Riverside Terrace Sauvignon Blanc 

Tasting Notes

This wine is pale yellow in colour, with a pungent nose of sea breeze, wet stone, and freshly cut citrus fruit that really jumps out of the glass. It is fruity, light-bodied, and dry on the palate, with a refreshing minerality, intense flavours of lemon, and a hint of grassiness. Its strong backbone of acidity gives the wine structure and leads to a surprisingly lengthy, mouthwatering finish.

The Upper Awatere valley is well known for its rugged soils and unforgiving climate, but also the many river terraces that jigsaw their way down the valley. Our river terraces sit amongst the foothills of the Blackbirch range, and the vines grown here are quite different to other terraces along the valley as a result. Our Riverside Terrace Sauvignon Blanc is a pure expression of our terroir. We have created wines that are unencumbered by the effect of higher alcohol, letting the pristine flavours of the Upper Awatere shine and give these wines a definite sense of place.

Winemaking

Harvested in the cool of the evening, the grapes were gently pressed and the juice was fermented under very cool conditions to retain the intensity of the flavours. Once dry, the wine was left on yeast lees to develop even more complex flavours.

Viticulture

Our main terrace is home for our Sauvignon Blanc vines, which are made up of different blocks depending on the soils beneath. The vines for these wines come from Block 6. The soils in this block are very stoney with little loam and as a result the vines crop much lower yields, therefore ripening flavours much earlier than the sugars can accumulate. Naturally these wines will have lower alcohol but with the full spectrum of intense flavours only the Upper Awatere can give.

Riverside Terrace Sauvignon Blanc

The Upper Awatere valley is well known for the many river terraces that jigsaw their way down the valley.

​Our Riverside Terrace Sauvignon Blanc is a pure expression of our terroir. We have created wines that are unencumbered by the effect of higher alcohol, letting the pristine flavours of the Upper Awatere shine and give these wines a definite sense of place.

Clark Estate

Clark Estate is our signature brand, consisting of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Classic Riesling, Block 8 Riesling (sweeter style), Sparkling Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Botrytised Riesling (dessert wine) and Late Harvest Pinot Gris (dessert wine).

Each wine is carefully crafted in the vineyard so that minimal intervention is needed in the winery.

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