Man O' War Gravestone Sauvignon Semillon 2019

Reviews and accolades

NZ Wine Rater (Steve Bennett MW, Lynette Hudson): 96/100. Complex, vinous and Bordeaux-like on the nose with gooseberry, capsicum, lime skin, herb-garden and smoky/savoury notes. Rich, textural and weighty on the palate with concentration and power that lasts through to it's delicious bone dry finish.

Cameron Douglas MS: 93/100.  The combination aromas of SB and Sem are incredibly enticing teasing the senses with exotic fruits and waxy citrus, wild white flowers and pith, dried and fresh herbs and a tease of spice. A satin cream texture touches the palate for a moment before the acidity of youth power through the palate. Flavours of citrus with orange and lemon then apple and some tropical fruit moments, a fine mineral layer and lengthy youthful finish. Great drinking from today and through 2029+.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 92/100. A beautiful and zesty sauvignon blanc with sliced green mango, honey, green apple and some lime. Stony notes, too. Medium body. Energetic finish.

Tasting notes

2019 Gravestone has a subtleness to it, slowly revealing a discreet nose of lemon blossom, white peach, elderflower and oyster shell, a medium bodied wine of texture with tingling acidity with mere hints of the barrel fermentation. This is a blended white wine that oozes sophistication with a touch of lime, fresh pear, honeysuckle and a hint of orange marmalade leading towards a persistent succulent finish.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: White wine from New Zealand

Varietals: 78% Sauvignon Blanc, 22% Sémillon

Alcohol: 13.5% vol

Residual sugar:  4 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulfite

Vineyards: Root Rake SB, Nth Basin SB, South 3 SB, Sidewinder SB and South 3 Semillon, Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The Sauvignon blanc and Semillon vineyards are all dry farmed and low yielding and are hand harvested off a number of volcanic influenced hilltop sites.

Winemaking: The Sauvignon blanc is macerated and pressed to tank before the cloudy juice starts a spontaneous fermentation and is transferred to French Oak Puncheons, including the use small portion of Acacia wood, to ferment. The Semillon is gently pressed and clarified in tank before fermentation with a cultured yeast in old Puncheons, following fermentation the wines stayed on gross lees in Puncheon for 6 months before being blended to tank for bottling.

Gravestone: Taking its name from the fluted basalt boulders that solemnly surround our volcanic hilltop vineyards, Gravestone is bequeathed upon the finest blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

Cellaring potential: 2026+

Produced and bottled by: Man O' War Vineyards, PO Box 1287, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140, New Zealand

Distributor: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany