SHEILD Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Reviews and Accolades

New Zealand International Wine Show 20202: Double Gold (1 of only 5 Sauvignon Blanc). To be awarded an NZIWS GOLD Medal, a wine will have been judged at least twice.To be awarded an NZIWS DOUBLE GOLD Medal, a wine will be required to receive 'unanimous gold medal scores' from the Chief Judge, the three Assistant Chief Judges, and the three-person Senior Judging team.

MUNDUS VINI Spring Tasting 2023: Gold. 

Cameron Douglas MS: 93/100 (Excellent). Pungent, grassy, exotic fruits and fresh citrus, cape gooseberry and yellow flowers, fresh basil and stony mineral qualities. Bright, crisp, fresh and fruity with a fast paced acid line carrying the herbs and citrus flavours throughout the palate. Additional flavours of peach and tropical fruits along with sweet green herbs layer in as the wine opens up in glass and becomes more ambient. Delicious, fresh, salivating and dry. Best drinking from 2022 through 2025.

NZ Wine Rater (Steve Bennett MW, Lynette Hudson): 91/100. Lifted, estery nose with aromas of talcum powder, lemon sherbet, nectarine, fig, nettles, cut grass and a hint of struck match. Taut, bone-dry style with a stone-sucking, mineral palate and bracing freshness.

Tasting note

Star bright and pale lemon-green in colour with a pronounced nose of citrus, gooseberry, herbs and pineapple. A powerful fruit driven wine displaying only light secondary aromas. Medium bodied with layers of flavour, a dense core, and mineral nuances. Its presence builds and lingers for a long persistent finish that is dry and clean.

Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Food match: Sauvignon Blanc's 'zing' is a delightful complement to dishes with fresh herbs, green vegetables, seafood or fresh goats cheese. Enhance the effect with a citrus or garlic garnish. Or simply enjoy as a refreshing aperitif.

Alcohol: 13% vol

Vineyards: Livingston and Bryant Roads Brightwater, Nelson, New Zealand. Flat alluvial soils, gravel with a layer of silt loam.

Vine Age: 14-20 years.

Vintage 2022: The Nelson winter was benign in 2021. Normal rainfall and not much snow on the hills. Consequently, an early budburst resulted. Periodic but not prolonged rain events through the spring and early summer ensured fairly normal vegetative growth which was pleasing from a vine management position. Sea temperatures in the region were also well above average and warm weather continued through to the start of flowering. Untimely rains negatively affected the early flowering varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir resulting in a range of clonal variability. Later flowering varieties (Sauvignon Blanc, Albarino, Pinot Gris) flowered and set beautifully. Summer continued in a warm and sunny manner as summer should. A period of rain shortly after version again affected the early ripening varieties resulting in increased disease pressure for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The resulting flush of vegetative growth was cause for concern as the increase in humidity under the bird netting also increased disease risk. Summer held its nerve and grapes were harvested largely in good balance and condition between late March and mid April 2022.

Regional climate: Nelson’s sheltered topography gives protection from strong winds; combined with its proximity to the sea this gives milder temperatures than other South Island regions, mitigating frost risk. Regularly New Zealand’s sunniest region and with good diurnal variation this helps emphasise varietal character. High sunlight hours and a long growing season give wonderful fruit purity.

Winemaking: Three picks from local vineyard blocks were machine harvested over a period of three weeks. Different parcels enabling Trudy Sheild to ‘play’ with three different juices and create a spectrum of flavours to work with at blending time. But back to harvest… Trudy Sheild has found machining to be the best technique for harvesting many of the aromatic white varieties and most definitely Sauvignon Blanc. Trudy and the team like to start early, preferably before dawn, removing the fruit quickly while the temperature is cool to minimise oxidation and preserve aromatics. Grape-skin contact with the juice during transportation and processing at the winery contributing to the concentration of flavour and the phenolic structure obtained in the juice. The winemaker Trudy uses a quick but gentle press cycle to de-juice the fruit. The juices are then cold settled for several days to achieve low solids prior to ferment promoting crisper and more pure varietal aromatics. Each parcel of juice may be split into more than one ferment tank and are inoculated with different Sauvignon yeast chosen for the attributes they will bring to the finished wine. The ferments are conducted slowly at cool temperatures again to preserve aromatics. When only a dash of sugar remains and the wines are deemed balanced, the ferments are arrested by chilling. A small volume of wine that is destined for the final blend undergoes stirring on lees to enhance texture and mouthfeel. This creates a powerful blending component and an important brush stoke to our wine style. In early July, this year Trudy set about grading the individual wines and trailing and trailing and trailing again, potential blends! Seeking a good nose, concentration of the mid palate, length and overall balance. Once confident that these criteria were met the wine was blended and briskly finished for bottling in the last week of July 2022.

Residual sugar: 5 g/l

TA: 7.25 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Cellaring potential: 2025

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Drinks Cabinet Limited, Atawhai, Nelson 7010, New Zealand

Imported by: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany

Can't get enough of Sauvignon Blanc? Here is our Sauvignon Blanc assortment.