(2024) A blend of fruit from the warmer soils of the Wairau Valley and cool, dense clay of the Southern Valley, this was fermented with wild yeast in French oak barriques and matured for eleven months. Oak seems restrained this vintage to very nice effect, just a sheen of buttered toast and oatmeal over pear and lime fruit. The palate has textural richness, hinting at exotic nectarine and mango, but that balanced by fresh, zippy lemon acidity. The majestic 'mixed six' price of £28.49 is the one to be on. Independent merchants also have it for £30 - £33. Watch the video for more information.

(2024) Made for Tanners by Ben Glover, at first I thought this might have seen a touch of oak as it has a definite sheen of almond or oatmeal on the nose, before more assertive asparagus and fresh-cut grass aromas win through. In the mouth it has good texture and concentration given it's lightweight 12.5% alcohol, full flavoured touching into nectarine and mango, and the acidity is well-judged, i.e. not too harsh or over-bearing for a balanced style of Marlborough Sauvignon.

(2024) Riverby's Riesling block is one of the oldest in Marlborough, and this cuvée is made in a mouthwatering dry style. The nose has hints of beeswax and crushed stone, but there's a distinct floral aspect to this too. In the mouth bags of fat, zest lemon and lime, just hinting at the downy skins of peaches, but steely at the core that wins through to a long, clear, sherbetty finish.

(2024) Last vintage of this that I tasted was the 2019, standing in the vineyard with Dr John Forrest. It remains one of the better reduced alcohol wines out there (in this case achieved largely by vineyard management rather than technology to remove alcohol), though perhaps it's not quite as convincing as the 2019 which I scored 88/100. Aromatics and flavours are good, but the two elements that just detract a little are too much sweetness (for me) and a slight sense of dilution, the wine fading away rather abruptly. Do not get me wrong: if you like Marlborough SB and want a wine with only 9.5% alcohol, it remains a pretty sound choice in a rather uninspiring field.

(2023) This very pale and youthful wine has a modest 5.5g/l of residual sugar, coming from loam, gravel and clay soils with vines planted between 1979 and 2004. The vineyard is a mixed planting of aromatic varieties, dominated by Gewurztraminer, all co-fermented. It sits at only 60 metres altitude. The nose is very attractive with some sweet bon-bon notes, exotic fruit, peach down, and a touch of citrus peel. The palate has a rounded, sweet-edged and very approachable medium weight, creamy-rich but juicy into the finish with a fresh grapey crunch to the acidity.

(2023) Austria's Gru-V in the hands of the talented Jules Taylor, who vinified part of the blend cool in stainless steel, a second portion wild fermented in old French oak. It's aromatically vibrant, cut lime and a shimmer of sherbet over clean apple aromas. In the mouth it is a concentrated wine, quite powerful phenolics adding grippy texture, and plenty of pithy acid, quite slippery and saline in the food-friendly finish.

(2023) From a cool year, much more into the asparagus and green bean character that might be familiar from Marlborough Sauvignon, with citrus and peach beneath. A racy style, tiny sherbetty note, tangy with loads of pithy grapefruit and relatively broad texture into a crisp and still quite well balanced finish. Bottled October 2013. pH 3.25 and acidity 6.7g/l. No UK retail stockists listed at time of review.

(2022) This is both classic Marlborough and a cut above the ordinary. The nose is streaked with lime over herbaceous notes, running into gooseberry and hinting at more tropical mango. The palate is succulent, showing something slightly smoky and mineral, but loads of streaking lime and lemon zest, still echoes of lychee and mango ripeness. It finishes dry, with excellent acid balance.

(2022) I recently tasted Pyramid Valley's 'Sauvignon+' from North Canterbury and made it my 'Wine of the Week'. Not to be confused, this is their straight Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, and does not have a UK retail listing at time of review. Fruit is sourced from the biodynamic Churton Vineyard, north east facing slopes on loess over clay. Fruit is pressed into larger oak demi-muids (600L) barrels for fermentation with ndigenous yeast, and rests on the lees for six months. Quite subtle confit lemon and leafy, soft herb aromas like dill and parsley, then a little mango and passion fruit emerges. A very pure and intense lemon palate, but fat, ripe Amalfi lemons, lovely texture and mouth-filling weight, but super-clean to the finish.

(2022) An inexpensive Marlborough Chardonnay (93% Wairau, 7% Awatere) aged 11 months in French oak barriques, 15% new. Mealy and almondy, there's a little touch of flintiness to the creamy apple fruit. In the mouth the lightly biscuity oak supports quite clean and lean fruit, certainly more in the apple and citrus spectrum than tropical, with a tight, pithy lemon finish.