Astrolabe Kekereng Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2024

The grapes grown in the coastal fields are rich in minerals and have a rock salt aftertaste. This Sauvignon Blanc has a crisp citrus acidity and a pleasant floral aroma.

This wine has a salty ocean flavor, which is quite rare among New Zealand wines. It pairs well with seafood, and is a great accompaniment to BBQ shrimp and scallops.

Salty Sauvignon

This wine is produced in Kekereng , the southernmost area of Marlborough.

It is a very small region surrounded by sea and mountains, and its extreme maritime climate has a major influence on this wine.

The scent has a citrus scent like lime and a pleasant floral scent like jasmine.

When you put it in your mouth, you can sense the saltiness of rock salt. It has a minerality that makes you feel like you're drinking hard water, and it is a major part of the flavor.

In Marlborough, the wine style that is often described as "fruity and juicy Sauvignon Blanc" is common, but this wine has a more pronounced minerality than fruitiness.

The finish is very long and the wine is very dry.

Recommended pairings

This wine has a hint of the sea, so it would be best to pair it with seafood.

You can simply grill shrimp and scallops with salt at a BBQ, make them into a salad like carpaccio, or even fry them.

Seafood barbecue

Sea bream carpaccio

Grilled Salmon

Fried squid rings

About Marlborough

Marlborough is the heart of New Zealand's wine region.

Marlborough has ideal natural conditions for grape growing, such as abundant sunshine and large temperature differences throughout the day, and produces over 80% of New Zealand's wine.

Among them, Sauvignon Blanc, characterized by its crisp acidity and overflowing fruitiness, boasts an overwhelming production volume and is loved worldwide for its unique character. In red wine, Pinot Noir, with its rich berry fruit flavor, is also popular.

About the Astrolabe Winery

Astrolabe is a Marlborough winery founded in 1996 by winemaker and owner Simon Waghorn, his wife and friends.

"Astrolabe" is the name of a French ship that arrived on the coast of Marlborough in the early 19th century, and means "astronomical observation instrument."

When the winery was first established, it sold small amounts of wine without a label, but as the high quality of its wines gradually became known, it began releasing them under the "Astrolabe" label in 2001. It then began exporting to the UK, and its popularity has been growing year by year.

Astrolabe is unique among New Zealand wines imported to Japan in that it uses grapes from a small region called "Kekereng." The Sauvignon Blanc named after the region is perhaps the wine that characterizes this winery.

Furthermore, 80% of the wine they produce is Sauvignon Blanc, and Bob Campbell MW, a leading New Zealand wine critic, has praised them, saying, "Astrolabe is undoubtedly the pinnacle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc producers."

Astrolabe Kekerengu Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2024