Happy International Sauvignon Blanc Day Everyone!

Holy Mother of Esters, Phenols, Pyrazines & Terpenes!

The not-so-nerdy way of putting it is Whenua Awa or Wawaweewa??!! This wine is FRESH as a just chopped-up garden of herbs. Add all the subtropical and tropical fruits growing on both sides of the equator into the mix and voila, you reach Whenua Awa.

Granted, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has a bad rep of sorts, for being just too much, err, shall we say “Kiwi” at times? That’s exactly why we are painstakingly careful when going through samples, in search of one that is everything we love in a big, bold Sauvignon Blanc, minus an overamplified intensity of that average New Zealander. This one BLEW OUR MINDS.

Pale lemon with reflections of silver and platinum. The nose is the essence of all citrus grown under the sun, be it your average lemon with pith and rind included, to the exotic like a Buddha’s Hand. There too is a touch of Key Lime Pie, along with freshly mowed grass, lemongrass, and even lemon verbena! Blood oranges and ruby red grapefruits join a raspberry leaf and passionfruit edge on the palate, succulent all the way to the bank at this ridiculous price. Long and complex like a Loire but with the aroma and flavor intensity turned up all the way to 11. Enjoy this summer sipper with a roast chicken basted in citrus and stuffed to the brim with a handful of freshly picked herbs of course.

While they seem to have missed reviewing the supercharged 2018s, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has given Tohu the love they deserve in the recent past, and profiled them as “Kono is the food and beverage arm of the Wakatu Incorporation, a Maori-owned conglomerate with interests in seafood, horticulture and wine. Tohu is the Awatere-focused branch of the business, with the winemaking concentrated at the former The Crossings winery under the direction of winemaker Bruce Taylor… Tohu’s Reserve wines, each named for a different tribal elder, are especially notable for their quality.”

If this wine is not a testament to pampered fruit and obsessive attention to detail resulting in a unique and gorgeous varietal expression of Sauvignon Blanc, we don’t know what is.

Not much was imported sadly, so highly limited like the peak days of summer around the corner. Pile up as we did!

92 Points – James Suckling

“Succulent, fresh and juicy with a pared-back, lemon and lime feel to the nose. The palate has a very succulent and quite savory, grapefruit edge. Drink now.”