Amisfield Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ~ Central Otago, New Zealand

95/100 Bob Campbell, The Real Review
93/100 Wine Spectator
Bronze - James Suckling
90/100 Bob Campbell, The Real Review (2019 vintage)
90/100 James Suckling (2019 vintage)

Gold - New Zealand Organic Wine Awards
Champion Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand Organic Wine Awards
Silver - San Francisco International Wine Competition
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards
Gold - New Zealand Organic Wine Awards (2019 vintage)
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards (2019 vintage)

Bob Campbell, The Real Review "Rich, concentrated sauvignon blanc with vibrant passionfruit, guava, citrus, grapefruit and red capsicum flavours. Power and purity with a mouth-watering acid backbone and an impressively lingering finish"

Wine Spectator "Generous passion fruit, mango and guava notes add a tropical flair to the core of peach, melon and citrus flavors. The intense fruit flavors gain intensity and juiciness on the finish."

James Suckling "Aromas of passion fruit, lemon cordial and ripe pear. It’s medium-bodied with tangy acidity and sweet, tropical and citrus character."

Bob Campbell, The Real Review "Bright, tangy, aromatic sauvignon blanc with citrus, grapefruit, wet stone, mineral and a suggestion of wood smoke. An intriguing wine in a bone-dry style with a lingering finish. Quite austere. Good food wine. " (2019 vintage)

James Suckling "Very bright passion fruit and lime with herbal accents on the nose lead to a palate that has crisp, tropical-fruit flavors." (2019 vintage)

Amisfield's 200ha property, once a prominent high country merino station, is one of the largest single vineyard estates in the Central Otago region.

Central Otago, near the bottom of New Zealand's South Island, is the world's most southerly wine region. Vineyards cling to the sides of mountains and high above river gorges in this dramatic landscape.

One of the most distinctive features of Central Otago as a wine region is its marginal continental climate, with extreme seasonal and diurnal temperature variations. This shortens and intensifies the growing season and poses a frost risk for an extended period of the year. For this reason, many Otago vineyards occupy hillside sites, angled towards the sun, and reduce the risk of frost damage by keeping cold, dense air on the move.

Some producers employ frost protection on flatter sites, typically wind machines, frost pots and water sprinklers. Some have even been known to fly helicopters back and forth over their vineyards to prevent frost from settling.

The Sauvignon Blanc taste is one of the most identifiable in the world of white wines for a few reasons. First, it always has crisp, high acidity. Second, it has a chemical compound called pyrazine which gives grassy, herbal or bell pepper flavors. When grown in cooler climates or picked early, the herbaceous green character is most prominent. In warmer climates or allowed to hang longer on the vine, the pyrazine character diminishes in favor of riper fruit flavors ranging from grapefruit, to passion fruit and guava.