Blank Canvas 'Holdaway Vineyard' Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Marlborough

Cameron Douglas MS
94/100 punten
There’s no mistaking the impact of variety here with a nose of nettles and dried sage, crumbled dry clay then a rush of citrus fruit scents from lemon skin to grapefruit flesh. There’s a definitive saline quality to the lift and suggestion of tropical fruits. A dry wine with a very nice palate squeeze, layers of fruit flavours from citrus to white pineapple and peach then back to dried herb and clay. Crisp and dry with loads of acidity, excellent balance and length with best drinking from day of purchase through 2029.

Jamie Goode, Wineanorak
93/100 punten
13% alcohol. From the Holdaway vineyard in Dillons Point, which is farmed regeneratively. Amazing aromatics of elderflower, tomato leaf and green pepper. Crystalline palate with lemon and grapefruit, as well as some green pepper, and keen acidity. Such lovely fruit here: it’s an amazing expression of Marlborough Sauvignon.

James Halliday
93/100 punten, Special Value
The Holdway vineyard is perched in Dillons Point in the lower Wairau on the eastern edge. Abundant in blackberry leaf, shiso and yellow guava. Buttercups and marigold flowers. You can taste sunshine and sun-kissed tropical fruits. There is a surprising dryness to the palate, its flesh pulled tight, wound and coiled with acidity that springs forward. Some cashew-nut creaminess to finish and a slight bitter tonic edge that keeps you going back for more.

Jancis Robinson
17/20 punten
Full, screwcapped bottle 1,255 g. From a single vineyard in the Dillons Point subregion of the Lower Wairau Valley, regeneratively farmed. Young, deep, alluvial silt soils over sand. Cool summer nights from proximity to the ocean. Machine-harvested at night, light pressing to avoid phenolics and fermented in tank. Fermented cool and aged on lees before bottling. Certifed vegan and Appellation Marlborough. TA 6.4 g/l, pH 3.2, RS 2 g/l. All the classic Marlborough aromas of capsicum, blackcurrant leaf and a touch of passion fruit but without being overly pungent. In the mouth, this is surprisingly rich, gently chewy and creamy at the same time. The texture has added to the depth first provided by the fruit. Firm, mouth-filling and fresh. No unwanted sweeteness so it finishes long, salty and dry. A complex style that still highlights Sauvignon’s fruit profile. I think it must be quite difficult to make distinctive Sauvignon Blanc but this is distinct in its depth and complexity while retaining vibrant fruit without going down the reduction/struck-match route. Not one of the cheapest Marlborough Sauvignons but GV. Really long finish – with that lovely leesy grip. (JH)

James Suckling
92/100 punten
Pure, juicy and tense, offering fresh limes, passion fruit, crushed rocks, orange blossoms and a touch of gooseberries on the nose. Tense, polished and very textured, with a medium body and a chalky finish. Very clean and balanced. Drink or hold. Screw cap.