Sauvignon Marlborough Nau Mai 2023

The Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough made by Nau Mai represents the quintessence of an enthusiastic approach to wine, characterized by the immediacy of pronounced aromas, penetrating tropical notes, and a great balance between pleasant softness and lively freshness. An excellent synthesis, in short, of the way we view New Zealand: a land of decidedly young winemaking culture, but with a potential for terroir and grape varieties that is absolutely top-notch.

The Sauvignon from Nau Mai is made with pure Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the Marlborough region: we are in the northern part of the South Island, the area that perhaps best manages to reconcile the unpredictability of the oceanic climate with a milder, more Mediterranean trend. It is right here that one of the most demanding international white grapes has found a comfortable home, in soils formed long ago within gravel beds and characterized by sandy grounds with a clay matrix. The grapes are harvested in the cool of the night and destemmed in the winery to be sent for fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Once the work of the selected yeasts is completed, the wine is racked and undergoes a few months of aging always in steel, before being bottled rather early, in order to fully preserve the freshness of the primary aromas.

Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough by Nau Mai has a typical bright straw-yellow color, with a clear and luminous appearance. The bouquet of aromas hits the nose stunningly, composed entirely of tropical pungency and stellar aromaticity: immediate notes of lychees, followed by the sweet/tart sensations of passion fruit and pink grapefruit. The background is rhythmically marked by precise vegetal hints of mown grass and tomato leaf, up to the hints of fresh green pepper. The tasting is certainly consistent with the entire aromatic potpourri, revealing a subtle and quite persistent mineral note that ties in with the tropical and herbal envelopments. It is an incredibly fresh white that needs no justification to be opened and enjoyed: it pairs perfectly with company and enthusiasm.