Light yellow-straw color; peach, lemongrass on the nose; peach, pear, melon, tropical fruit, gooseberry, passion fruit on the palate.
Medium body, rich flavors and nice complexity, some good herbaceous notes in mid-palate, bright acidity (3.31 pH) yields lilt of lemon on the finish. Exceptionally smooth for sauv blanc, very drinkable, plays nice in the mouth, almost silky when you finally swallow after letting this beauty linger in your mouth. Entertains you from start to finish. Passion fruit flavor indicates a hint of fruity sweetness, but this is dry sauv blanc.
WhiteHaven began as the dream of Sue and Greg White in 1994. Settling in the heart of the Marlborough, New Zealand, one of the epic sauv blanc regions on the planet, they aimed for high quality, single varietal wines to present to a world market. Sue heads the company today, continuing the dreams she enjoyed with her late husband to produce straightforward, pure varietal, premium label wines.
E. & J. Gallo imports the brand into the U.S., so there is ample distribution. You should be able to find it, and you should invest in a bottle when you do.
WhiteHaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2015 is another example of Marlborough magic when it comes to sauvignon blanc. It is a step up in price and quality over Kim Crawford’s entry level offering, but both brands over-deliver as fantastically food friendly, fun-to-drink wines. It is almost impossible to go wrong with a New Zealand Marlborough sauv blanc; WhiteHaven is a solid value at $20.
Other photos: Sue White, WhiteHaven vineyard
