2016 Tinpot Hut Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 750 ml

Decanter’s Highest Scoring Sauvignon Blanc Ever

In Decanter’s August 2017 issue, this 2016 Tinpot Hut Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc received the equal highest score ever for a Sauvignon Blanc — a near-perfect 98 points. Prior to this, no Sauvignon Blanc from anywhere in the world has ever been rated “exceptional” by the prestigious UK magazine. What is truly astonishing is that you can drink this near-perfect Sauvignon blanc for a mere $18.99. As soon as we heard the news, our own Matt Deller MW was on the phone to his friends at Tinpot Hut back in his original home of New Zealand. He managed to secure the winery’s last 150 cases. This past October, every single one of those cases disappeared into Wine Access client cellars. Then, yesterday, Matt’s phone rang: Tinpot Hut was calling to offer an allocation it had pulled from another retailer. Why? They were impressed with how quickly our clients snapped up our first allocation. So it goes. And so, thanks to all of you, here’s a lucky shot at another 100 cases of this 98-point beauty.

The star-studded Decanter panel, three of the foremost New Zealand wine experts, Melanie Brown, Bob Campbell MW and Cameron Douglas MS, waxed lyrical about the 2016 Tinpot Hut calling it a “concentrated, poised amalgamation of complexity and style, effortlessly pure and well composed.” Decanter isn’t alone in raving about this Sauvignon Blanc — it had already earned Blue Gold & Top 100 in the Sydney International Wine Competition. To put it another way, the judges at the Sommelier Wine Awards in the UK said: “That teams of highly attuned sommeliers keep on picking it [Tinpot Hut] out for Gold, blind, year after year, vintage after vintage is a truly remarkable testament to the vineyards and the winemaker.”

Tinpot Hut's owner and winemaker Fiona Turner crafts exceptional wines from her Home Block vineyard, established in 2005 in Blind River — Marlborough’s newest, highly lauded subregion, which is fast earning the reputation as its best. Strong winds and a cool growing season, coupled with a uniquely hilly topography results in extremely low yields of super-concentrated grapes. The 2016 vintage brought together a perfect combination of maturing vines and excellent weather conditions, which produced Decanter’s “exceptional” 98-point Sauvignon Blanc.