Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Reviews

Shanteh Wale, Halliday Wine Companion: 97/100. A wine that catches you off guard with its familiar waft of candle wax and sparkler flint. There’s a wistful white floral aroma of frangipani and freesia drawing you in. As it opens, notes of pomelo, white pear and pineapple emerge. The wine then lights up like fireworks – the soft, sparkling kind – revealing hints of lemonade, yellow melon and a glittering acidity that is carefully bridled. Nuances of celery heart and fresh ginger follow, adding complexity. It is exquisite in its balance – teetering tropical notes, the fragility of herbal suggestion and an utterly moreish finish.

Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 94/100. The 2025 Sauvignon Blanc is textural and salty, savory and complex. I love this wine for its tether to place, but its elevation beyond it. It isn’t overt in its styling, nor pungent in its aromas; it is classy – a sophisticated showing of the best attributes of the variety.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 94/100. Aromas of grapefruit, brine, green olives and limes. Medium- to full-bodied, linear and vibrant, with definition. Restrained exuberance and a touch of salinity in the finish. 100% indigenous yeast fermentation. Impressive handmade wine considering the volume. Drink now.

Cameron Douglas MS: 94/100. Taut, new, pure fruited, ripe and salivating with aromas and flavours of grapefruit and lime, white peach and hay. A dry wine on the palate with a backbone of acidity engaging the palate and sending a flourish of flavours throughout. There’s a light fine lees quality, saline quality and lengthy vibrant finish. Best drinking from mid to late 2026 through 2032+.

MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator: 93/100. Complex and highly detailed, with notes of honeysuckle and lemon oil, plus touches of saline and grilled Meyer lemon. Yuzu, pomelo and citron flavors, along with lemongrass and fresh ginger, linger effortlessly on a sleek, mouthwatering frame.

Tasting Note

Restrained elderflower florals with grapefruit, white peach and pears, followed by underlying complex smoky-flint notes. Lovely saline acidity and bright citrus fruit characters burst on the palate, offering refreshment from the first sip. Fruit sweetness compliments and balances the acid backbone, finishing dry with fine phenolics intertwined with the acidity.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: White wine

Grape varial: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Food match: Fresh, simple seafood dishes especially oysters. Smoked kahawai with green olive and sweet basil. Also compliments goat cheese well. Try a goat cheese summer salad.

Vineyard location: Wairau Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand. Vines are 28 years old on average, with some plantings dating back to 1984.

Soil type: Silty-clay loams, some parcels with gravels interspersed.

Vintage: Spring started warm and dry, with budburst timing about 7-10 days earlier than average, with only one significant frost. Idyllic sunny and warm conditions set up one of the best flowering and fruit sets across all varieties in many decades. December provided a good dose of heat with multiple days over 30°C and well-spaced rainfalls to replenish the soils. Dry but cloudy conditions dominated January, slowing development nicely, before becoming sunny from February onwards. 2025 proved to be a season of patience. With generous yields and largely favourable weather over the growing season, the fruit took some time to ripen fully. Thankfully, Marlborough's classic dry and warm conditions kept fruit quality high over what was the longest harvest period (46 days) in 24 years.

Winemaking: Dog Point's version of the classic aromatic Marlborough style of Sauvignon Blanc. Fruit is hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed prior to cold settling, followed by fermentation using indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 5 months in stainless steel tanks then bottled without fining.

Alcohol: 12.5% vol

Total acidity: 7.1 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Cellaring potential: 2030+

Ingredients: Grapes, preservatives and antioxidants: potassium metabisulphite (sulfites). Bottled in a protective atmosphere..

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Dog Point Vineyards Ltd, PO Box 52, Renwick, Marlborough, New Zealand