Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough – 2021

From a plot of Dog Point’s best quality and oldest vines (planted in 1992), this Sauvignon Blanc is fermented and matured in French oak barrels for 18 months in classic Bordeaux white wine style.

2021 was one of the driest seasons on record, producing 50% of the usual yields but very high quality grapes.

On the nose, smoke and flint wash over a ripe grapefruit and citrus spectrum of fruit flavours, with gentle toast and oatmeal characters from its long elevage in barrel.
On the palate, it is powerful and intensely flavoured, bursting with fresh grapefruit flavours. Quite rich in texture, with a gentle creaminess from its lees aging. Long finish.

“Hand harvested, whole-bunch pressed and aged for 18 months in seasoned French oak. This is a wine that consistently delivers, while ageing at a glacial rate, almost beyond belief. At five years, this is showing Meyer lemon, cantaloupe and Alphonse mango skin. Mock orange blossoms, honeysuckle and struck sandstone flint. The palate curls into creamy candlenut and oatmeal, then circles back to its citrus and tropical fruit core. It’s languid and slightly oily, persistent and long. A wine for rewiring your brain and taste buds on what great Sauvignon can do.” 96/100 The Halliday Wine Companion

“This is a beautiful and complex wine with sliced apples, lemons, bread dough and salted pie crust. Some grass. Always subtle and complex yet shows intensity. Medium body. Lovely acid balance and an excellent finish. White pepper. Dry. Always excellent.” 95/100 James Halliday

“Light, lively with strong green-fruit notes. Rich underneath. ” 17+/20 Jancis Robinson MW

“The 2021 Section 94, matured in French oak barrels, typically packs a more overt punch than the estate Sauvignon Blanc tasted alongside. Here, the wine is complex and nuanced, with layers of crushed and salted nuts, curry leaf, saline acidity and edamame. This is a very, very good wine.” 95/100 Wine Advocate