2021 Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc
2021 Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc
Pale straw with green highlights. Powerful gooseberry, white currant, red capsicum, passionfruit and lime peel aromas. Medium-bodied, with strong flavours of makrut lime, passionfruit, lemongrass and a refreshingly smooth, dry and persistent finish.
Pair with fresh, leafy green salads; goat’s cheese; seafood of all types; and dishes with lifted, aromatic herbs.
Wine Spectator (91/100)
Distinctive, offering lemon blossom, dried ginger, white pepper and lemongrass aromatics, with a core of fleshy peach, mango and melon flavors. Impressive for its focus and long, lingering, refreshing finish. Drink now. 6,000 cases imported.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (90/100)
Bursting with passion fruit and hints of snow pea pods, the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc is a strong effort. Assertively flavored with plenty of intense tropical and citrus notes, it’s medium-bodied and lightly textured on the palate with a lingering, refreshing finish. Drink it over the next year.
An astrolabe is an ancient astronomical calculator with a name that translates as ‘star taker’. In 1996, when respected career winemaker Simon Waghorn started his own label, reaching for the stars seemed appropriate, and he chose the name Astrolabe. Working in a profession at the conflux of art and science, there is a certain affinity with the artisans who painstakingly crafted these often ornate instruments. Simon has since established a benchmark style of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and has been described by New Zealand’s leading Master of Wine, Bob Campbell, as a ‘Sauvignon
Supremo’.
After the international success of his Sauvignon Blanc established Astrolabe’s reputation, Simon gave up his other winemaking commitments to focus on Astrolabe, which has now become a family winery. Simon often refers to Marlborough as a winemaker’s paradise for of its ability to produce world class aromatic white wine and Pinot Noir. Simon has long been an advocate for the recognition of sub-regional diversity within Marlborough. His convictions are reflected in the wines he makes: a diverse range of varieties from small plantings around Marlborough with different expressions of
terroir. Simon sources fruit from across the whole Marlborough growing region, pushing as far as the southern coast, where limestone soils can be found.
Astrolabe is a winemaker brand, and Simon Waghorn makes the wines to suit his personal palate. Simons crafts his Astrolabe wines with precision and harmony, capturing Marlborough’s intense fruit and leaving the connoisseur to discover the measured layering of flavors and different dimensions as they savor each glass.