2025 Mokoroa - Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough (750ml)

Mokoroa is the second label of Puriri Hills, an award-winning New Zealand producer owned by winemaker Judith Fowler, a Virginia native. The name and vividly colored label come from a green moth native to the Puriri tree, and the wine is crafted in a contemporary style meant for younger, fresher drinking. The grapes are sourced from the Awatere Valley, a cooler sub-zone of Marlborough known for producing more herbal, focused Sauvignon Blanc.

Marlborough remains the world's benchmark region for the variety, responsible for roughly 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc production. Its vineyards sit at the northern tip of the South Island, benefiting from well-draining stony soils, a dry, sunny climate, and dramatic day-to-night temperature swings that keep berry ripeness and acidity in balance.

Mokoroa pours a very pale, almost white lemon yellow, with an intense, clean, bright aroma of nectarine and gooseberry laced with citrus. The first sip brings mouthwatering, fresh acidity, followed by rounded notes of lush passion fruit and ripe nectarine mingling with tart gooseberry through the mid-palate. Toward the finish, subtle notes of crushed herbs emerge, though the wine's real star remains its luscious fruit, carried through on a long, lingering finish by that same bright acidity.

This is a versatile, food-friendly Sauvignon Blanc, well suited to fresh seafood, salads, or simply sipping on its own on a warm afternoon.