Giesen Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Winemaker: Andrew Blake
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand

Giesen Wines, established in 1981, is a family affair. Family owns 75 acres in Marlborough and about 360 acres are in production. Three brothers Theo, Alex and Marcel run the winery that is now almost entirely export business.

Due to the quality of their wines, Giesen became New Zealand’s sixth largest wine company and the only South Island company that ever achieved (category 3 status-which means that their sales exceeded 2 million liters of wine).

The brothers are involved in daily operations, and just a few years ago invested several million dollars into expanding and upgrading the winery, modernize the  equipment, expanding the storage and tank capacity. It allows them to increase the production to close to 4 million liters of wine in the near future.

Although the Sauvignon Blanc is the main grape in New Zealand,  Giesen also produces excellent Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir. 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was sourced from approximately 40 separate sites. As the different soils allows wine to ripen at different times, blending sites provides a considerable flavor profile.

That’s the secret why Giesen consistently delivers a distinctive style of wine with characteristic of Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs.

As each sites were harvested at its prime, the wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve the freshness and crispiness of the wine. Separate vineyard sites were blended together right before filtering and bottling.

When blended, these vineyards provide a distinctive style that displays both ripe, tropical fruit and the crisper, green and lively components that are characteristic of Marlborough.