Wines

Starborough®

2009 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The Source:

The Marlborough district of New Zealand’s South Island has set the world standard for crisp Sauvignon Blanc wines. Marlborough is on the east coast of the island, with a ridge of mountains to the west, which limits rainfall and helps make it one of the sunniest areas of New Zealand. The landscape is pierced by deep, fjord-like bays, called “sounds”, which enhance the moderating maritime influence and help extend the growing season for wine grapes. The long, cool growing season helps the wines of this region to develop rich layers of flavor with a distinctive, refreshing character.

Viticulture:

The Marlborough region of New Zealand experienced a somewhat challenging, but favorable growing season leading up to the 2009 harvest. Although there were periods of cool and damp weather in February, followed by some rain in March, warm weather quickly returned around mid-March. From that period on, a long drawn out Indian summer provided consistently warm days and cooler nights – particular to Marlborough and perfect for fruit maturation. Following a near perfect bud break and fruit set, Marlborough’s vineyards were on track for larger than average crops. However, growers and viticulturists were able to carefully manage their crops in an effort to concentrate on quality not quantity. Overall, the 2009 harvest produced wines with very ripe fruit flavors and well balanced acidity.

Winemaking:

The grapes were destemmed, but not crushed, and lightly pressed in order to avoid over extraction of bitter tannins from the skins. The must was then fermented in upright stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures for 30 days. The wine was filtered prior to bottling.

The Wine:

The 2009 Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc’s crisp, approachable style is characterized by layers of citrus and ripe tropical fruit with some herbal notes. The wine shows flavors of passion fruit, guava and kiwi over a citrus background.

Varietal Content: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Origin:  Marlborough, New Zealand
Titratable Acidity:  0.79 g/100 mL
pH:  3.4
Alcohol: 13.0%
Residual Sugar:  0.47 g/100 mL

View our 2010 winemaker note.