2011 Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc

96 POINTS

James Suckling

The most complex of Marlborough sauvignons is looking the goods in this warmer vintage. There's a heady reductive layer that delivers flinty grapefruit notes and lemon pith. The palate texture is superb; starts on point and builds weight and layers of texture through the mid-palate with abundant gooseberry and lime flavor, then finishes pure, focused and true. Drink now.

92 POINTS

Joe Czerwinski - Wine Enthusiast

This starts off a bit nutty and funky, but give it time in the glass and it delivers bright aromas of nectarine and grapefruit in addition to the nut and dough notes. Despite this wine's weight and richness, it's crisply focused on the finish, where its grapefruit flavors really linger. It should prove relatively long-lived, but I'd still opt for drinking it over the next few years.

92 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Light to medium yellow colour. Smoky, bacon bone aroma, oak dominates and it is rather strident oak. The palate is better; rich and intense, powerful and deep. It's a wine of some complexity, and is soft and round without losing its focus and vitality. Very good wine, albeit with flavours and (especially) aromas rather oak-driven at this time.

90 POINTS

Wine Spectator

A distinctive whiff of buttered popcorn gives way to intense mandarin orange and peach notes, displaying gusto all the way to the long, juicy finish. Drink now. 50 cases imported.

90 POINTS

Bob Campbell MW - The Real Review

Barrel fermented, funky Sauvignon Blanc for wine drinkers who are tired of the more mainstream, fruit-focused Marlborough model. Strong matchstick, mineral and nutty oak characters with pure varietal characters lurking below. It’s a clear and slightly rebellious statement attracting a spirited following but I find the wine a tad too tough. Hard to rate - the wine has considerable merit but it is not for me

Stephen Tanzer - Vinous

Pale yellow. Reduced, wild scents of pineapple and spices, along with a high-toned leesy element. Densely packed and impressively concentrated, showing a distinctly saline quality. Today the wine's fruit is blocked by reduction. (A second bottle was even more reduced, and slightly bitter-edged on the finish.)

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Light, bright yellow colour. Lots of burnt matchstick; very complex barrel and sulfide aromas, smoky and pungent - rather dominating the fruit. Same in the mouth; it's a touch flat and 'gas pipe'. Too worked, to the degree that the fruit is overshadowed. Hard to tell where the sulfide ends and the smoky oak begins!