Imagine a place that embodies everything good about the Marlborough wine region, but in a little-known valley to the south. Hidden between ageless mountains and an iron sea is a place of wild beauty named Kekerengu.
Located within Marlborough’s Appellation Wine Region, Kekerengu is untouched and unique. The soil here is different — stony and rough, with a vein of limestone carried by forgotten glaciers. The morning mist is a ghost that tends the vines, and the wind is a prevailing southerly that makes the grapes develop slower than in other places — perfect for cool-climate winemaking.
It is a lonely place, Kekerengu. You’ll find more company within the silent parts of the nearby Pacific Ocean than on any track—and you’ll receive more chatter from a Fantail than from a cellphone. And that’s what makes this place special. It’s remote and rugged.
It is here that Josh Scott first had a hand in planting a block of Sauvignon Blanc more than twenty years back. Since then this little valley has called him to return. The traditional opinion said it wouldn’t work; planting vines here was too audacious and would require too much effort. Fortunately, audacity and hard work are two things that Josh is known for—and so he set about creating something special to share with the world.
This Sauvignon Blanc is a true cool-climate wine. Unlike traditional Sauvignon Blanc, this wine gets better with age. As it matures a gentle mist gathers within—forsaking clarity for flavour. Fresh sea breezes from the nearby beach add a gentle saltiness to the grapes, which can be tasted from the glass.
Once the grapes are harvested they are immediately pressed in the cool of the night. Light filtering, and minimal winemaker intervention, allows the fruit to sing. It is a wine to remind you that there are still places in this world that are pure, and it has the flavour profile to prove it.
If you can’t make it here to experience it for yourself, enjoy it in a glass of our Black Label Sauvignon Blanc 2022 which is made from grapes grown at Kekerengu. Fresh, zesty, juicy and full, showing ripe tropical fruit, a flinty palate and a mouth-watering crisp sea-salted herbaceousness.
Vintage 2022 / Wine Spectator – 93 Points
“Delivers a terrific, lip-smacking mix of crunchy sea salt, toasted herbs and tropical flavors that show terrific purity to the Key lime, dried pineapple and passionfruit flavors at the core. Reveals intense acidity on the long finish.” MaryAnn Worobiec
