Deep Down Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021

An English wine writer famously once described Marlborough sauvignon blanc as tasting like ‘a bungee jump into a gooseberry bush.’ The evocative mental picture came back to me when I jumped into the 2021 Deep Down Marlborough sauvignon blanc. It immediately recalled the original style that first put Marlborough sauvignon blanc on the winemaking map, one of utter over-the-top, sing-out-loud herbaceousness. It’s all right here: sweet grassy fragrance, asparagus, lemongrass, dill, snow pea and, yes, gooseberry. A well-made, vibrant and super fresh sauvignon. In keeping with the New Zealand taste for a touch of sugar in their white wines, a thread of sweetness runs through the wine, bringing with it a gentle softening of the region’s rather brisk cool climate acidity, not to mention, über-herbaceousness. A good example of the classic style of Marlborough sauvignon.