The Mahi 2018 Sauvignon Blanc comes from seven sites around Marlborough.

It includes barrel-fermented and indigenous-yeast components, as well as 2% Sémillon, and spends six months on its lees prior to bottling.

Ripe nectarine and pink grapefruit notes lead the way in this medium to full-bodied wine.

Plump, mouthfilling and silky in texture, with decent length.

About the wine & winemaking:

The focus with this wine is to provide a drink that has texture and depth, rather than focussing solely on primary fruit notes.

Mahi wanted a wine that satisfies across the palate, and employ a number of techniques to achieve this.

Mahi Sauvignon 2018 comes from seven different vineyards, all of them giving particular attributes to the final wine. The hand-picked fruit was whole-cluster pressed so that the time on skins was minimised.

A portion of this juice, 11% for this vintage, was barrel-fermented in older French oak to give greater weight, though ensuring that wood is not evident on the nose.

The balance of the wine was fermented cool to retain the fruit characters from our vineyards.

The native ferment portion, 18%, also adds levels of flavour and texture, giving a savoury note that balances some sweeter fruit.

The final blend was made solely from free-run juice, as the Mahi team feel it gives a more elegant and subtle wine.

With this eighteenth year of Mahi Sauvignon they have changed one thing in particular which is part of our constant endeavour to improve and refine the texture of our wines.

Texture is everything for the Mahi team and with the 2018 vintage they have taken it another step further by leaving the wine sitting on 'lees'; dead yeast cells, for a longer period, now up to 8 months.

On our tastings here we feel that the longer time on lees adds another layer of complexity to the wine, giving greater depth of subtleties while still retaining balance.

Each year the fruit is slightly different and so the blending is constantly interesting and we will keep assessing the blends on an annual basis, aiming to make 'real' wines that express the Mahi vineyards and personalities.

Technical Details:

Alc: 13.5%
Acidity: 7.3 g/L
Residual Sugar: 1.6 g/L
Brix at Harvest: 19.0 - 23.9