Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Kim Crawford Wines was established in late 1996, when Kim and Erica Crawford launched two wines made from fruit grown in Marlborough. The Crawford’s sold the company to Constellation in 2005 and subsequently handed the reins over to the Constellation winemaking team, led by chief winemaker Anthony Walkenhorst, who had trained under Kim.

Despite Kim Crawford no longer being involved with these wines, the current winemakers and viticulturalists continue the classic Crawford philosophy and style. Control over grape supply has always been essential and Constellation continues to maintain good contracts with growers in the region, ensuring consistency of quality and style.

Kim Crawford is renowned for their Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which is blended from over 200 separate batches from their own extensive vineyard holdings and from growers throughout the Wairau, Awatere, Blind River, Waihopai and Omaka Valleys. The age range of the vines (from 5 to 20 years old) brings a mix of youthful exuberance, fruit and depth of flavour to the wine.

Vineyards

Kim Crawford have access to one of the widest selections of Marlborough vineyards for blending their distinctive, award-winning Sauvignon Blanc. 250 wines from all over Marlborough are tasted before the blend is selected. In 2020, key parcels in the final blend came from vineyards in the Wairau Valley, the Awatere Valley and the Southern Valley, all of which delivered outstanding fruit with unique flavour profiles.

Vinification

The grapes were machine harvested and destemmed in the field to keep maximum freshness. Some batches were pressed immediately while others had varying length of skin contact prior to fermentation. All parcels were fermented and held in stainless steel tanks until bottling.

Tasting Notes

This Sauvignon Blanc has tropical aromas of passion fruit and guava, along with lifted notes of citrus and crushed herbs and an underlying wet stone minerality. The wine has vibrant acidity, with plenty of palate weight and length. Ripe, tropical fruit flavours of passion fruit, melon and grapefruit linger on the persistent finish.