Deep Down Sauvignon Blanc 2021
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Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The goal here is to ‘turn the volume down’ and offer a delicious, honest and balanced expression. A very rare creation from Marlborough being wild fermented, 100% malolactic and only receiving a touch of sulphur at bottling. Old vines and silty soils (rather than gravels) ensure there is a talcy texture. A long 3 month ferment, malolactic and being raised in 35 year old puncheons means the fruit isn’t high-toned and the acids aren’t shouting. True to its origins but with nuance, drinkability and flow.
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Wine Enthusiast
On the fruitier side of the Sauvignon spectrum, this opens with bright, likable notes of white peach, lime and passion fruit, with a pungent pop of Sauvignon Blanc goodness underneath. The palate is slippery in texture, tangy and refreshing with well-balanced acidity and a lingering passion fruit finish.
Other Vintages
2020-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
Deep Down Wine was founded when Clive Dougall and Peter Lorimer, two individuals well versed in the Marlborough wine world, joined together. After bonding over their love of old world wines, the two hoped to create a project that celebrated unique tasting wines with an ethical and transparent business model.
After twelve years of working as a winemaker at Seresin Estate, located in the heart of the Wairau River Valley, Clive learned the basics of organics. This methodology became the driving force behind the Deep Down project, utilizing grapes from Marlborough’s diverse landscapes within the Wairau River Valley, the Wrekin, Tua Marina & Ashmore respectively.
Being members of the minute organic growers population in New Zealand, the two highlight their own twist on the classic Marlborough style. With the utilization of natural resources and hands of farming the expression of the fruit is protected rather than obscured with additives. As Clive states, “In order to create an exceptional wine, we must give back to our vines and soils.”
The wines are all fermented naturally by the vineyard yeasts that live on the grapes. This promotes the true character of the vineyard, while delivering increased depth, complexity and texture to the wines. Deep Down is a refreshing new look at Marlborough. All certified organic, these are honest wines forged with intuition and heart.
The meaning of Deep Down is trusting your gut, intuition and following the path you truly believe in.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.