Marlborough

Marlborough at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island is one of the most successful single-region single-variety stories in wine: the world bought a fundamentally new style of Sauvignon Blanc in less than three decades. Cool, sunny days, gravelly free-draining soils and dry harvest seasons produce piercingly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc with pungent gooseberry, passionfruit and grassy notes — a benchmark style copied globally. Pinot Noir and traditional-method sparkling wines are increasingly serious; high-end single-vineyard Sauvignons (Dog Point, Greywacke) have shown the variety's age-worthy ambition.