Raymond Chan
Bright, even, pale straw-yellow colour with slight green hues.  The nose is elegantly fragrant in expression with gently pack, fresh aromas of pungent passionfruit along with subtle notes of fresh herbs, snow peas, nettles and a little cut-grass.  This is in the cooler spectrum, and unfolds thirst-quenching mineral elements. Medium-bodied, the palate has a firm core of pungent passionfruit entwined with green stonefruits and subtle cool-spectrum notes of snow peas and nettles.  The fruit forms a taut and concentrated core and the wine flows along a light phenolic-textured line with lacy acidity lending energy, leading to a light, lingering finish of passionfruit and fragrant herbs.  This is an elegant and taut Sauvignon Blanc with a fine core of passionfruit, stonefruit, herb and nettle flavours on a fine-textured, lively palate.  Serve as an aperitif and with Pacific Rim fare over the next 2 years.  Fruit fermented in stainless-steel with 10% in seasoned oak to 12.5% alc. and 2.2 g/L RS, the wine aged 6 months on lees with batonnage.  Certified BioGro organic.
17.5/20

NZ Organic Wine Awards
Silver Medal

Raymond Chan
Bright, very pale straw colour with slight green hues, near colourless on the rim. The nose is light, clean and pristine with aroma of gooseberries and green stonefruits along with subtle white floral notes, revealing suggestions of nuts and minerals. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the fruit flavour of gooseberries, green stonefruits, fresh herbs and florals are reserved in expression.  Nutty and chalky mineral nuances unfold lending interest.  The palate has good body and presence with fine-grained, chalky textures and underlying brisk acidity providing a thirst-quenching mouthfeel. The wine carries with good linearity to a fine, dry-textured, lingering finish of gooseberries. This is a light and restrained Sauvignon Blanc with gooseberry fruit, a fresh mouthfeel with good presence and subtle chalky textures.  Serve with shellfish, salads and vegetables over the next 2 years. Fruit cool-fermented in stainless-steel with approx. 7% in seasoned oak barrels to 13.5% alc. and 3.2 g/L RS. Certified BioGro organic.
17.5-/20, 4 Stars

Peter Saunders
Certified organic. Partly oak fermented. Tasty wine, perhaps a unique style for Gladstone sub-region (of Wairarapa) yet carries the Sauvignon tone New Zealand is known for. Balanced, near perfect mouth-feel. A fine wine for poultry and fish courses. No hurry through 2017.
91/100

Michael Cooper
A consistently impressive wine. Certified organic and partly barrel-fermented, the 2013 vintage (5 stars) is mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, with crisp, tropical fruit flavours of melons, limes and passionfruit, showing excellent concentration, a subtle seasoning of oak adding richness and complexity, and a dry, lingering finish. Drink now-2015.

Raymond Chan
Bright straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, pale edged.  This has a very tight and penetrating nose of cooler-spectrum cut grass and nettle-like fruit aromas, with subtle passionfruit nuances, the bouquet revealing savoury herbs and mouthwatering minerals.  Dry to taste and medium-bodied, fresh, lively fruit flavours of grass, capsicums and gooseberries form a tight core and show with lusciousness and vitality.  Herb, green apple and mineral detail unfold, and the palate flows with energy, following a very fine phenolic, textural line.  Lifted florals and minerals feature on the long, firm, racy finish.  This is an elegant, refreshingly juicy and lively Sauvignon Blanc with cut and linearity.  Match with seafood, poultry, salads and vegetables in Mediterranean-inspired fare over the next 2 years.  Fermented in stainless-steel with a portion in seasoned oak to 13.5% alc. and 2.3 g/L RS.  Certified BioGro organic.
17.5+/20 4 stars

Sam Kim
A delicately expressed sauvignon, the elegant bouquet shows grapefruit, white peach, dill and subtle flinty aromas. It’s focused and linear on the palate with pristine fruit flavours and fine texture, leading to a lingering crisp finish. A wonderful partner to elegant seafood dishes. At its best: now to 2017
884

Michael Cooper
Certified Organic, this Wairarapa wine is mouth-filling and vibrant with strong, ripe tropical fruit flavours, a subtle seasoning of oak adding complexity and richness and a dry, lingering finish.

Yvonne Lorkin’s Sips of the week
Gloriousness from Gladstone comes to mind from the first sip.  I love the funky frangipane, lucerne and watercressy aromas and layered palate of almond meal, passionfruit, papaya and hints of smoke on the palate. Deliciously complex and super-tasty.
five stars

Raymond Chan
Bright straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, pale edged. This has a very tight and penetrating nose of cooler-spectrum cut grass and nettle-like fruit aromas, with subtle passionfruit nuances, the bouquet revealing savoury herbs and mouthwatering minerals. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, fresh, lively fruit flavours of grass, capsicums and gooseberries form a tight core and show with lusciousness and vitality. Herb, green apple and mineral detail unfold, and the palate flows with energy, following a very fine phenolic, textural line. Lifted florals and minerals feature on the long, firm, racy finish. This is an elegant, refreshingly juicy and lively Sauvignon Blanc with cut and linearity. Match with seafood, poultry, salads and vegetables in Mediterranean-inspired fare over the next 2 years. Fermented in stainless-steel with a portion in seasoned oak to 13.5% alc. and 2.3 g/L RS. Certified BioGro organic.
17.5+/20 4 Stars

Raymond Chan
Cool-fermented in stainless-steel, with a small portion in seasoned oak to 13.0% alc. and 3.0 g/L rs. Bright, very pale straw colour with slight green hues, near colourless on rim. The nose is very tightly bound with elegantly concentrated aromas of lifted gooseberry fruit and chalky minerals intermixed with white florals and nuts. Dry to taste, this is very fine-featured and elegantly proportioned, the concentrated but restrained gooseberry and minerally flavours still to unfold and reveal more detail and interest. Soft textures and acidity provide a gently flowing mouthfeel with the flavours being carried to a moderately long finish with delicate gooseberry nuances. This is a fine-textured, tightly bound Sauvignon Blanc that has a resemblance to the classical wines of the Loire. Serve with Mediterranean fare over the next 3 years. Certified BioGro organic.
17.5+

Wine Orbit – Sam Kim
This is seriously good. The elegantly fragrant bouquet shows white peach, feijoa, citrus and herbaceous characters. It’s concentrated and richly textured on the palate with excellent concentration, finishing long and seamless. A stylish sauvignon showing delicate fruit intensity with subtle complexity.
5 Stars

Cameron Douglas Master Sommelier Reviews
N: The attention to detail in the vineyard is well expressed in the bouquet of this wine: A light savory/earthy complexity wrapped up in layers of citrus and tree fruit aromas, moderate+ complexity with a mineral underscore.
P: The layers of mineral or earth-like attributes are a distinctive part of the palate; sweet lemon and grapefruit with apple and pear then some gooseberry and white florals; this wine is all about the sum of its parts, balanced with medium+ to high acidity and a medium+ finish. A love wine.
In looking up my notes on the 2011 Urlar Sauvignon Blanc (14%) it read remarkably similar with emphasis on the citrus centred aromas and soft herbacous qualities; mineral finish and four stars overall.
5 Stars

Peter Saunders
Certified organic grapes and winemaking; partly oak fermented. Quite a gutsy style, quite strong in its fruit statement, serious, robust and hearty for this variety and showing a lot of spine. Dry and very much a food wine and most enjoyable in its stature which lifts it above many.

Peter’s Picks Hospitality Magazine
Quite a potent style, dry, almost austere for this variety, and young. Changes will follow as 2011 passes but very good with food now to enjoy the intensity. From this Wairarapa sub-region (Gladstone), Urlar have hit the ground running with a splendid range of wines.

Daily Mail Weekend Supplement
This is a restrained, classy, less exotic interpretation of this grape variety and I love its calm fruit flavours. Perfect for the less boisterous amongst you

Winestate Tasting by Micahel Cooper
‘Sweaty’ armpit aromas lead into a fleshy, well-rounded, northern Wairarapa wine with ripe nectarine and passionfruit flavours, a hint of herbs, and excellent concentration.
4.5 Stars

Wine Orbit – Sam Kin
This wine has complexity as well as excellent fruit intensity, displaying lifted aromas of musk, peach and fresh herbs. The palate is weighty and richly textured with a beautifully flowing mouthfeel and an expansive finish. A stylish Sauvignon with lovely pungency. At its best: now to 2013. 14% Screw cap. Certified organic.
4.5 Stars

Raymond Chan
This is a most consistent label, and vies with Palliser Estate as one of the richest Sauvignon Blancs from the Wairarapa. Straw yellow with the barest golden hint, the bouquet is one of ripe passionfruit backed by some of the decadent pungent thiol aromatics, along with an underlying herb/nettle amalgam. On palate, there is depth and concentration of fruit, handling the 14.0% alc. well. Lovely passionfruit and ‘sweaty’ elements along with bracing, fresh acidity. This will fill out over the next year and layers of interest from the partial barrel ferment will emerge. A very good Sauvignon Blanc from the slow-to-ripen 2010 harvest that will be delicious with all seafood over the next 2-3 years plus.
18.0-/20

White Wine of the Week Decanter Magazine UK
You get what you expect here, but that classic gooseberry fruit is relatively restrained, complemented by pleasing, herbaceous lime flavours, plus a squeeze of passion fruit.

John Saker
Guava, stonefruit, mirabelle… round, showing some dev, good acidity, wildflower, minerally. Good food style.
17