Decanter’s Top New Zealand Organic Wines to Try

Decanter’s David Longfield investigates the growing organics moment in New Zealand, and picks Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc 2017 as a top example to try. Decanter reports that even New Zealand, a country that is acutely aware of its environmental protection needs, only has 10% of wineries holding organic certification. Being an organic winery is far more than just a title, it is an awareness of how you run your vineyard overall, “if you want to get a plant that is truly reflective of its place, your job is to look after all the microflora that are making that happen.”

The piece also features a written review of Dog Point’s Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc, which received 92 points from Decanter. “From a single parcel within Dog Point’s vineyards, located at the confluence of the Brancott and Omaka valleys, the vines planted in 1992 on free-draining, silty clay-loam alluvial soils. A warm spring and late summer were followed by cool but good conditions into the autumn, with harvest concluded rapidly to beat heavy rains in mid-April 2017. The wine was fermented and aged in used French oak barrels for 18 months, and bottled without fining. Toasty wood to the fore on the nose, but there’s key lime pie richness and herbal notes of marjoram and bay. Ripe lemon and lime citrus with lightly tropical passion fruit and pineapple, though the fruit is underscored by a distinctly earthy/mushroom creamy character enhancing complexity on mid-palate and finish, which has great length. Best with food such as meaty fish, tuna steak or chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce.”

To read more about organic initiatives in New Zealand and Dog Point, read the full article HERE.