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Wine Tasting Adventure

2024 Kim Crawford, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Liberty

£14.99 GBP
£14.99 GBP

Kim Crawford Wines was established in late 1996 when Kim and Erica Crawford created two wines from fruit grown in Marlborough. The Crawfords sold the company to Constellation in 2005 and handed the reins to their experienced winemaking team, now led by Chief Winemaker Dave Edmonds. The current winemakers and viticulturists continue the classic Crawford philosophy and style. Control over grape supply has always been essential, and Constellation maintains good contracts with growers in the region, ensuring consistency of quality and style. From the 2022 vintage, the winery has moved to using lightweight bottles as one of several sustainability initiatives.

Kim Crawford is renowned for their Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, blended from over 200 separate parcels sourced from their extensive vineyard holdings, as well as growers throughout the Wairau, Awatere, Blind River, Waihopai and Omaka Valleys. The age range of the vines (up to 20 years old) brings a mix of youthful exuberance, fruit, and depth of flavour to the wine.

In selected vintages, Kim Crawford releases the ‘Spitfire’ Sauvignon Blanc. It is named ‘Spitfire’ to commemorate the World War II fighter aircraft base in nearby Blenheim, where they source fruit for this wine. Often hailing from a single vineyard, the small parcels selected for the blend are intensely flavoured. The Pinot Gris is sourced and blended from sites across the North and South Islands and offers a crisp, lively, aromatic option with a little more body and ripeness. The Pinot Noir is a blend of Marlborough and Central Otago sites, giving the winemaking team a great range of flavour profiles to work with and deliver Kim Crawford’s signature red berry and spice notes.

Kim Crawford have access to one of the widest selections of Marlborough vineyards for blending their distinctive, award-winning Sauvignon Blanc. 250 wines from all over Marlborough are tasted before the blend is selected. In 2021, key parcels in the final blend came from six vineyards in the Wairau Valley, the Awatere Valley and the Southern Valley, all of which delivered outstanding fruit with unique flavour profiles. Soils are predominately alluvial silts and clay.

The 2024 vintage in Marlborough was exceptional. Favourable weather conditions throughout the growing season allowed the grapes to ripen perfectly, free from disease pressure. This resulted in wines with excellent flavour intensity and depth.

Upon arrival at the winery the fruit was crushed and pressed, and the juice was clarified as quickly as possible. Fermentation was slow and cool, utilising a variety of selected yeast to express the grapes character.

This Sauvignon Blanc is pale straw with lemon hues. Lifted aromas of passion fruit and guava dominate the nose, along with notes of citrus and crushed herbs and an underlying wet stone minerality. The wine has vibrant acidity, with plenty of palate weight and length. Ripe, tropical fruit flavours of passion fruit, melon and grapefruit linger on the persistent finish.