2009 Staete Landt Sauvignon Blanc

Wine Spectator
"90 pts ... Light and zippy, a refreshing mouthful of green apple, green mango and lime aromas and flavors, around a core of pear that lasts on the finish." --1/10

Michael Cooper's NZ Wine Guide
"5/5 Stars ... This very subtle and satisfying wine was grown at Rapaura and partly barrel-fermented. Bone dry, it is fleshy, with rich, ripe, tropical flavours, crisp and lively, and excellent drive, immediacy and punch. "

Technical Notes
"Each parcel harvest was managed slightly differently in the winery. The majority of the parcels were machine harvested and fermented using neutral yeast strains so that the fruit flavours and aromas were emphasized. Two other portions were hand picked and whole-bunch-pressed to retain delicacy and elegance. One of these hand picked portions along with half of the machine picked portions were aged on yeast lees for 2 to 5 months. During this time we allowed these components to develop a subtle but complex creaminess. The second hand picked portion (about 20% of the wine) was fermented in 6 to 10 year old French barriques with a mixture of cultured and indigenous yeast strains. This resulted in more complexity to the wine and minimal oak flavour due to the age of the barrels. Acid 7 g/L; p.H. 3.12 13.5% alc."