2017 Abstract Sauvignon Blanc Magnum
Single Vineyard: Holdaway Vineyard
Subregion: Dillons Point
Region: Marlborough
Vintage: 2017
Soil Type: Young alluvial silts over sand
Clone: Mass selection
Viticulture: Dry-farmed
Growers: Alan and Janette Holdaway and family
Winemaker's Notes:
While the classic expression of this famous wine style is about fruit purity and crispness, this wine represents an alternative interpretation. ‘Abstract’ is a departure from the norm. This wine is all about texture and layers of aromatic complexity derived from both fruit and winemaking. The Holdaway family vineyard in Dillons Point provides the pillar of blackcurrant, passionfruit and its signature salty minerality, while the 100% wild yeast fermentation in seasoned French oak puncheons offers savoury attraction and complexity on the palate.
Reviews:
94 Points "A dry-farmed Sauvignon that's made like a Chardonnay: hand-picked and whole-bunch-pressed, the cloudy juice sent to puncheon for fermentation. The wine rests on lees for 14 months with no bâtonnage, followed by a year in bottle before release. As a result, you can expect a richly textured expression and savory, almond and lanolin-like characters alongside black currant, lemon and cornichon flavors. Intriguing and drinking beautifully now. This is a Marlborough Sauvignon that doffs its cap to good white Bordeaux – and succeeds." Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media. November 2020.
94 Points “Oak fermented and matured sauvignon blanc that's as much about texture as it is about grapefruit, guava, struck flint, mineral and passionfruit flavours. An impressive wine with power and purity." Bob Campbell MW, Real Review. 13/5/2019
4.5 STARS “Currently delicious, but still developing, the 2017 vintage (4.5*) is a single-vineyard wine, grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley. It was fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for over a year in seasoned French oak puncheons. Bright, light lemon/green, it is weighty and complex, with ripe, tropical fruit flavours, a gentle seasoning of toasty oak, and a rounded, bone-dry, lengthy finish. Best drinking 2020+..” Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide 2019, May 2019.
93 Points "Bold and very expressive bouquet with layers of dried and fresh herbs, citrus peel, wet gravelly soils and then some tropical fruit moments. The palate reveals much more with a silky texture, soft toasty wood spice with a vanilla edge, white peach, apple, wild flowers and rose flavours. There’s plenty of acidity to add freshness and structure as well as carry through the flavours to a lengthy finish. As the wine begins to open up the complexity and depth begin to show as well. A very good wine and one that requires your time and attention. Well made with a great finish. Drink now and through 2022." Cameron Douglas MW, 15/12/2019
92 Points "Sourced from the coastal area known as Dillons Point, the 2017 Abstract Sauvignon Blanc was barrel fermented and aged 15 months in older puncheons. It's subtly fumé in character, with hints of smoke and struck flint on the nose accenting fig, nectarine and passion fruit. Medium-bodied and silky in character from the long aging on the lees, it finishes long, with plenty of texture." Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker Wine Advocate 17/4/2020
View Tasting Notes - 2017 | 2016
