Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2016

Signs that "Mama" Maria was going a bit weird became obvious in the 1950s. She was convinced Italy was "all topsy turvy". No wonder then - given it looks (sort of) like Italy's other leg - she considered New Zealand "the right way up". Without further ado, she moved the whole family out. And she had plans... like her plan to bring back the Kiwi bird, which she was convinced grew from Kiwi Fruit.

Startled as they were, the family played along. Under the guise of building a laboratory for Mama's scheme, they built a winery. Reporting back to her carefully each day, they gave accounts of how the experiments were going, meanwhile presenting her with glass upon glass of the intense, enticing "kiwi juice". A "by-product" of their work, they told her. Obsessed as she was with ever more ambitious schemes, Mama never quite twigged what everyone meant when they winked and said the "Private Bin".

Marlborough's long sunny days and cool climate leads to a long ripening season and a unique combination of very ripe fruit alongside fresh acidity. Villa Maria is an acclaimed family owned producer with an unwavering dedication to excellence. A medley of intense, ripe herbaceous characters on the nose, followed by rich gooseberry, lime and tropical fruit characteristics on the palate. A fantastic apéritif which will equally match all manner of seafood.

This is a stunning Sauvignon Blanc from one of New Zealand's most famous - and consistently brilliant - producers, Villa Maria.

If you want crisp fruit and freshness, this has it in spades, thanks to the ideal climate which combines long sunny days with cool nights allowing the grapes to ripen beautifully.

Packed with passion fruit and grapefruit flavours, it makes a great match for seafood salads, pan-fried salmon or simply unscrew-cap and tuck into a bowl of grown-up crisps!

This intense Sauvignon Blanc is alive with a myriad of flavours dominated by gooseberry, passionfruit, fresh citrus, melon and herbaceous aromas. The wine has an enticing palate with a juicy flavour profile, purity and concentration, finishing crisp and clean with an interwoven thread of acidity.