Wines

Starborough™

2008 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 had an outstanding growing season leading up to the 2008 harvest. There was little frost in spring, warm and mild weather conditions during flowering, and warm weather throughout most of summer which resulted in a good crop size. Harvest commenced around the third week of March, which is fairly typical for this region. However, harvest rains led wineries scrambling to bring the fruit in before the crop was severely affected. Overall, the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc grapes offered a more opulent and forward tropical wine style due to the warm growing season.

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 Starborough 2008 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc’s plush, approachable style is characterized by crisp citrus and tropical fruit accents and lively acidity. The wine shows flavors of honeydew melon, passion fruit, and peach over a citrus background.

Varietal Content: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Origin:  Marlborough, New Zealand
Titratable Acidity:  0.75 g/100 mL
pH:  3.28
Alcohol: 12.69%
Residual Sugar:  0.27 g/100 mL