13-Dec-2017
Wild River is the value and accessible brand of Catherine Keith and Tony Rutherford who operate Mount Brown Estates in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. Here, I review the 2017 Wold River Sauvignon Blanc from what is deemed a "challenging vintage” marked by a cool growing season with rains during the ripening period and at harvest. Catherine says of 2017 "don’t judge a book by its cover”, meaning it was a good vintage at Mount Brown, as they own their own harvester which allowed them to bring in clean fruit ahead of the rain. Catherine reports the Brix levels were lower than normal, but the Sauvignon Blanc was physiologically ripe "with great flavours moving into the tropical spectrum”. www.mountbrown.co.nz
