2020 Black Cottage Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 750 ml

We’ve tasted 100+ New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs this year, yet this is just the fourth that has passed our test. That's because we want a Sauvignon Blanc that has it all: the wallet-friendly price, perfectly balanced ripe fruit and racy acidity, a cornucopia of herbaceous aromatics, and a finish that pirouettes on the head of a pin. 

That’s exactly what the 2020 Black Cottage Sauvignon Blanc delivers, and the moment this mouthwatering white first jolted our palates, we were reminded of how it always pays to be patient. Platinum-toned and bursting with fresh citrus, Mandarin blossom, and jasmine, it’s got a racy mouthfeel alive with lemon and grapefruit zest, guava, and gooseberry, wrapping up with a chalky limestone acidity that would make Sancerre proud.

The newest vintage of a New Zealand bargain that has landed in Wine & Spirits magazine’s list of Top 100 Value Wines, this is white wine at its best. It boasts the kind of character and quality-to-price ratio that has made Sauvignon Blancs like Tinpot Hut some of the biggest smash hits with Wine Access members, and we’re proud to offer it at an incredible price.

Before founding Black Cottage, Dave Clouston gained experience working over 25 vintages in Chile, Spain, the USA, France, and Australia. He named the winery for the guest house on the property, which sits alongside Marlborough’s Opawa River. Nestled among grapevines, native plants, olive trees, and even cricket grounds, the Black Cottage is the exact kind of place you’d want to spend an eternity—sitting on the porch, sipping fantastic Sauvignon Blanc, and basking in the kind of warm, dry season that led to this gorgeous wine. 

Sourced from the Wairau and Awatere Valleys, which run west from Cloudy and Clifford Bays at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, Black Cottage is grown in a range of soils: Wairau’s mineral-rich silty and sandy loams, and the diverse gravel- and clay-streaked loams of Awatere. Of course, both valleys are blessed with the long days, cold nights, and bright sunshine that result in the kind of steely, citrusy, slightly smoky Sauvignon Blanc that made Marlborough famous.

Winemaker Sanna Stander preserves that unique character by pressing the grapes gently, fermenting them at cool temperatures, and aging them for a short amount of time in stainless steel. What makes it into the bottle is an exquisite Polaroid snap of a gorgeous season in one of the most renowned white wine regions in the world. It’s primed to pair with a wide range of seafood and salads, perfect to drink on its own, and priced to pack away by the case. 

We pass on a lot of Sauvignon Blancs looking for ones like this, so grab it while we’ve got it!