Pyramid Valley North Canterbury Sauvignon + 2019 – Sauvignon Blanc is a divisive variety at the best of times, but this wine takes it to a new level. You will love it or hate it. I don’t see many sitting on the fence. The extreme worked Kiwi Sauvs come in the form of Dog Point Section 94, which I really like, or the Cloudy Bay To Koko, not so much. For me, this falls in with the latter category. As they say in the classics, not my cup of tea at all. But there will be many who adore it.
The team have thrown everything they can at this wine. A dollop of Riesling, portions left on skins and fermented in amphora, others parcels in barrel with wild yeasts and some in stainless steel. It sat on ferment lees with no SO2 for three months before blending and was bottled unfined. All of this is why the wine is labelled with the ‘+’. From three vineyards in the Waipara region.
A pungent wine with herbals, a hint of creaminess and a real soursop note. A wine with power, force and length. It is building complexity and should be interesting in three to four years. The flavours might not appeal to me but they will to many and it is undoubtedly a well crafted and interesting wine. And in the world of worked Savvy’s, value. 90. $30.