Ageing Awatere Valley Vines Create Elegance in the Bottle

Ageing Awatere Valley Vines Create Elegance in the Bottle

Image: Richard Briggs Photography

The WineWorks Champion Sauvignon Blanc, previous vintage, at the 2022 QuayConnect Marlborough Wine Show has been over three decades in the making.

Vavasour Wines picked up the trophy with their Vavasour Papa Sauvignon Blanc 2021, made from the very first Sauvignon Blanc vines planted in the Awatere Valley more than 30 years ago.

Winemaker Susan Van Der Pol says this means the roots of the vines have had a chance to grow deep and penetrate the layers of blue-grey mudstone, called Papa, hence the name.

“The concentration of flavours and energy we saw in the fruit in 2021 made it a challenge to retain the classical green spectrum that we were looking for to balance the riper tropical fruit, but we were very pleased with what we bottled,” she says.

“The vineyard is planted in east-west orientated rows where we pick the north side first, then the southern side about six to seven days later.”

Alongside the WineWorks Champion Sauvignon Blanc, 2021 and older trophy, the company received the WineWorks Champion Sauvignon Blanc, Current Vintage trophy with their Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2022, which also hails from the Awatere Valley 

Both trophies stood to validate the company’s belief that Sauvignon Blanc from the subregion matures with elegance and style.

“Sauvignon Blanc is a cornerstone variety for us,” Susan says.

“The vineyard team really focuses on growing quality fruit to make our job easier in the winery, and collectively we are always looking for small things we can do to improve the process from the vineyard to the bottle. We are really lucky we control the whole process and the entire team is invested in producing great wine.”

Susan and her team were proud to be recognised for their work with Marlborough’s flagship variety, and welcomed the chance to celebrate with their peers at the Show lunch.

“It has been great to all gather together again and celebrate our region and our wines after a challenging few years with the Pandemic,” she says.

“It felt like a real celebration this year and is awesome to see the variety and quality of wines, and the legacy class really showcases the growing maturity of our region.”

WineWorks General Manager Damien Gillman was pleased to be able to sponsor two trophies that recognised Sauvignon Blanc, the variety that accounts for more than 80% of the company’s work each year.

“Supporting both the Champion Current Vintage, and Champion 2021 & Older Sauvignon Blancs is an acknowledgement of the innovation and experience that goes into creating both category wine types,” he says.

“We’re proud to sponsor our local wine show as part of our commitment to the NZ wine industry.”