PENCARROW SAUVIGNON BLANC

Tasting notes:

Pale lemon colour with brilliant clarity. Vibrant and expressive, the nose is an explosion of tropical fruits, exotic florals and crisp stone fruit. The top notes lead with passionfruit, blackcurrant, apple and nectarine, with neroli orange blossom and a thiol muskiness that adds pleasing complexity. 

The palate is juicy, luscious and bracingly fresh, the wine is dry to taste with the precision and purity of the fruit flavours an absolute highlight and a marker of another excellent vintage. Fruit concentration and subtle dried herbal complexity lead on to a long, mouthwatering finish with immaculately balanced acidity.

About the wine:

57% from our older vines in the Clouston vineyard with the balance from the ‘East Base’ vines. Pressed to stainless steel, cold settled and cold fermented to 13% ABV, the older vines tend to throw more tropical notes with softer acidity making for a rounder style. The lees are stirred post-ferment for maximum character. Vegan friendly.

About the producer:

Pencarrow is a range of wines produced by Palliser Estate. 

Pioneers and part of New Zealand’s wine-growing heritage, Palliser estate harvested their first grapes in 1989 and started exporting in 1991. Ever since they have won world-wide recognition for the consistency and outstanding quality of their wines, picking up a whole string of competition gold medals (eighty to date) along the way, not to mention the accolade of being voted Exporter of the Year by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

To capitalise on the fabulous terroir here, the sun-baked terrace, the old river plain and loamy free-draining soil, the estate has a highly-skilled winemaker/viticulturist in Allan Johnson who has been with Palliser since 1991. This dual role allows him to have complete control of the wine-producing process from grape to bottle. The philosophy here is to work towards high quality fruit and produce wines of elegance and a sense of place, in as environmentally friendly a way as possible. The success of their wine-producing policy gained recognition in 1998 when they one of the first three wineries in the world to be certified to International Environmental Standard ISO 14001.

Food match:

Best enjoyed in the flush of youth, this is great as an aperitif or equally at home with kaimoana, like pan-fried fish, green-lipped mussels or oysters. The coriander, Thai basil and mint notes found in Vietnamese cuisine are also an excellent match.

This wine is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.