NEW Lake Road Marlborough Reserve NZ Sauvignon Blanc

Pairs with: Freshly shucked coastal oysters, grilled tiger prawns with lime and coriander, spicy Thai green chicken curry, warm goat cheese and avocado crostini, or a vibrant summer citrus and fennel salad.

Good for: Experiencing an intensely aromatic, family-driven Marlborough white; elevating raw bar platters with electric, salivating acidity; or sharing a bottle from a pioneering estate with over 50 years of New Zealand viticultural heritage.

Grape: 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

I am from: Marlborough (predominantly Wairau Valley), South Island, New Zealand (Sourced from sun-drenched vineyard plots planted in the free-draining gravel and alluvial silt of the Wairau River plain).

The Story: Lake Road Wines is a multi-generational, family-owned estate led by brothers Steven and Andrew Blampied, whose family history in New Zealand winemaking dates back to the region's first vines planted in 1975. Based on the country's easternmost edge, their vineyards are among the first in the world to greet the sun each morning. This abundant sunlight, balanced by crisp Pacific breezes, creates a microclimate that yields extraordinary aromatic intensity and balanced ripening. For their Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, the Blampied brothers select pristine fruit predominantly from the Wairau Valley—Marlborough's historic heartland renowned for its ancient riverbed soils. Harvested in the cool of the early morning to protect delicate fruit esters, the grapes undergo a temperature-controlled fermentation in 100% stainless steel vats. By completely avoiding oak intervention and malolactic fermentation, the winemaking team allows the pure, site-driven energy of the Wairau Valley to take center stage.

Why You'll Love Me: It is an electrifying, salivating white wine that floods the senses with pure, radiant fruit and a driving beam of mouthwatering freshness. In the glass, it pours a pale lemon-straw color with bright, youthful green highlights. The nose is wonderfully lifted and expressive, erupting with intense aromas of ripe passionfruit, fresh green apple, lemon zest, and white peach, layered with delicate herbal nuances of lemongrass and wild mint. On the palate, it delivers a crunchy, vibrant rush of red apple, green mango, and grapefruit before a wave of zesty acidity lifts the mid-palate. Texturally generous yet brilliantly focused, it glides across the tongue into a long, clean finish highlighted by a trailing touch of citrus pith and a persistent, wet-stone mineral snap.