Pyramid Valley Marlborough Weaver Sauvignon Blanc 2022

This is our second allocation of this limited single-vineyard release, which sits alongside the Springs Chardonnay and Korimako Pinot Noir. The fruit for Weaver is selectively harvested by hand from Sam and Mandy Weaver’s certified-organic, biodynamically farmed Churton vineyard. Huw Kinch says they chose this vineyard because it shows the heights Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc can reach. Churton sits 200 metres above sea level on a hillside between the Waihopai and Omaka Valleys. Pyramid Valley selected a parcel from the northeast-facing slope on loess above clay subsoil.

The grapes were picked on 31st March and fermented in concrete instead of oak this year (and all the better for it). The wine fermented with indigenous yeasts and was left on lees for eight months before a further four months’ aging in neutral oak. This is proper, grownup, unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc with contours of chalk surrounding a palate of sweet mint and juicy limes. Cracking texture, too, sculpted by mouth-watering energy and chalky drive. At once serene yet full of character—surely one of the most exciting and ambitious wines to come out of Marlborough’s southern hills, and doesn’t it work!