Jackson Estate Stich Sauvignon Blanc 2022

On the nose, various loads of ripe white stonefruits and zesty citrus abound. This follows through to taste with the same fresh zesty citrus and succulent stone fruit, combined with an underlying lees-driven textural backbone and mineral concentration. Perfectly balanced and crunchy acidity gives the wine lift, presence and poise.

Fruit was sourced from our 3 estate vineyards on the Central Wairau Plain and in the Waihopai sub-regions.

Vintage 2022 was rather a mixed bag with warm weather leading into Christmas and the new year, followed by some strong fresh winds and warm nights, then early vintage it started raining. Choosing when and how often to pick was the key, getting fruit in clean with higher acids, or leaving it out through the rains and getting it ripe but with lower acids.

In total 14 separate vineyard blocks of Sauvignon Blanc were harvested from the 3 Estate vineyards over a 3-week period starting the second week of March. With the challenges of the weather over harvest, we took our time and harvested fruit in the dry periods and aimed for both sugar and physiological ripeness.

All blocks were harvested in the early hours of the morning to reduce field heat and enhance flavour. Individually pressed to tank, the batches were settled for 72 hours before racking the clear juice off for ferment. Juice was warmed and then inoculated using only the best cultured yeast strains to enhance and complement the pure fruit character of our vineyard sites. Average fermentation lasted 3 weeks at mid to low temperatures to maximize aroma and flavour. Post fermentation the young wines were aged on light lees for up to 3 months prior to being blended and prepared for bottling in September.