Colour

Brilliant pale green colour

Aroma

Tohu Sauvignon Blanc has an intense mineral nose showcasing classic Awatere Valley characters of tomato stalk, gooseberries and lemongrass. 

Palate

On the palate our Sauvignon shows more herbaceous green pepper and fleshy guava notes with a steely minerality providing focus.  Racy acidity provides a long and very crisp finish with a touch of fruit sweetness for balance.

Analysis

Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.3%
pH: 3.32
T/A: 8.4g/L
R.S: 3.4g/L

Winemaking

Our Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of individual parcels of grapes from our Awatere vineyard.  Harvested in the cool of the Marlborough autumn the grapes are all machine picked.  The grapes are then transported to the winery where they are crushed and de-stemmed.  Gentle pressing ensures free-run juice of the highest quality and purity is retained for our flagship wine.  Following 48 hours of settling the clear juice is racked and inoculated with a neutral yeast strain.   Fermentation is carried out at cold temperatures (10-13C) in stainless steel tanks to retain freshness and varietal character.  A careful selection of the very best tanks was then blended to produce our 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.

Viticulture

Our Tohu Sauvignon Blanc is all sourced from our Upton Downs Road vineyard on the south bank of the Awatere River in Marlborough.  Located 30 kilometres inland and 220 metres above sea level our vineyard is on the extreme edge of viticulture in Marlborough and consequently our fruit is cropped at very low levels with the average being 9 tonnes per hectare.  After a wet period in late summer Marlborough experienced a long dry Autumn and the grapes were able to reach optimum ripeness with no pressure from poor weather to affect picking decisions.   All trained on a VSP trellis the fruit was harvested between the 4th and the 24th of April at sugar levels ranging from 20.5 to 23.7 Brix.

Food Match

This wine’s natural acidity and vibrant flavours make it a great accompaniment to all types of New Zealand seafood, specifically green lipped Mussels served with fresh summer salads and crusty bread.