Wine Review of 2016 Fromm Winery La Strada Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
Score : 91/100
Fromm Winery is a respected wine producer of the famous Marlborough region of New Zealand following organic principles and committed to sustainable viticulture.
Their ‘La Strada’ Sauv Blanc is in fact their main Sauvignon Blanc wine, made from the iconic grape the Marlborough region is so famous for, and the winery openly aims at producing it in the “classic style of Marlborough”.
Fruit is hand-picked early in the season to retain the crisp acidity, whole-bunch pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. To add complexity, weight, and texture, the winery ages a portion of the wine in old French oak barrels.
Tasting Notes
This white wine comes in a bright and shine lemon-yellow color of medium intensity.
The nose though, is pungent and rather powerful, in a typical Marlborough fashion. Attention-grabbing lemon is only matched by an even-punchier fresh passion fruit smell, while some white pepper, freshly-cur grass and lifted nutmeg tones add complexity.
A wine that is charming to smell at, given you like citrus and in-you-face tropical notes. Although, in all fairness, there is an elegance to it for a Kiwi Sauv, somewhat of an elegance to the aromatic profile.
On the palate, La Strada Sauvignon Blanc is very dry, with a crisp and mineral acidity, almost sharp if it wasn’t for an oily-enough a body, coating your palate just enough.
Bursting flavors of grapefruit and acidic passion fruit fill you sense keenly. It’s grassy and lively, with hints of tropical fruit richness, although these stay relatively discrete. Some clear drying phenolics towards the finish become loud however, bringing in further grassy elements, and accentuate the overall vegetal impression, much like the tight phenolics and the acidity in a lime work together onto grip your palate.
Overall
A complex and precise Marlborough Sauvignon wine, so archetypical of the style indeed, like the winery claims it. Grassy, citrusy and tropical, it is balanced overall but certainly on a dry and crispy style.
A food-friendly wine to pair with creamy and slightly rich, yet elegant food dishes, to coat up its vibrancy yet allow its complex fruity/spicy expression to come through harmoniously.
Enjoy 🙂
Julien Miquel
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