The d'Arenberg The Broken Fishplate Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is a cool-climate wine from the Adelaide Hills, offering vibrant tropical flavors like passionfruit and gooseberry. With crisp acidity and subtle oak influence, it’s a refreshing, textured Sauvignon Blanc that’s perfect for sunny days and pairs beautifully with seafood.

Darenberg.com.au

An intriguing Sauvignon Blanc from the cool climate Adelaide Hills.

The Name
Despite being a good match for fish, the name has nothing to do with them! A fishplate is a term for the nylon plates that collect grape bunches on a harvester, and often break when navigating around the steep, windy vineyards.

The Vintage
Winter and Spring rains were quite good which meant vigour was high. October and November saw some cooler weather which made flowering and set spread out over a long period with an intense short heat wave in the middle of set reducing the crop significantly. A nice rain on the 1st of February set the vines up well and mild to cool, dry, weather prevailed. A few slightly warmer nights in the later part of ripening helped the last sugar push. Yields were down significantly, the lowest in memory, however, quality is exceptional. Some of the best wines seen for years. Great colour, fruit characters, flavours and length.

The Winemaking
The fruit for this wine is sourced from the cool climate Adelaide Hills. Small batches of grapes are gently crushed, chilled, and then transferred to stainless steel basket presses. Gentle extraction of the juice is critical in these early stages to retain the delicate fruit characters. To add complexity and mouthfeel, a small percentage of the wine is partially fermented in aged French oak for two to three weeks.

The Characteristics
A flashy sauvignon blanc offering lashings of tropicals such as passionfruit and gooseberry on the highly aromatic nose, boosted by an undercurrent of fresh cut grass and asparagus. The palate is refreshingly crisp and mineral. Vibrant citrus like acid is a real feature. But this is accompanied by a generosity in flavour and a hint of added texture through some very light handed oak treatment and a small dose of wild ferment. Balanced and long, served chilled this wine will hit the spot on a warm, sunny day.