95 points - "The 2022 Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc is composed and tight. It's such a pretty wine. In terms of its ilk, it aligns perhaps with the 2011. I like it so much. This is an elegant and quiet iteration of this wine, with flowering herbs, crushed shells, chalk, a hint of aniseed and crushed nuts. It's a gorgeous wine with a long future in front of it. Interestingly, while I believe this will age gracefully, it is such a controlled and cool wine now that I would suggest that drinking it at any interval would allow it to show its pedigree. Super. The wines are better at the younger end of this vertical than the beginning, which is a great thing for the winery—and an even better thing for us, the drinkers." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

94 points - "Cape gooseberry, guava, cream, spice, cut grass and snow pea. Medium-bodied, grapefruit segments, a little thistle and spice, glossy with a firm cut of juicy acidity and subtle flinty texture, aniseed and perfume, pineapple and creamed rice richness, with a pithy finish of excellent length. It has bite, zest and tang, glide and viscosity, and well, it’s Cape Crest writ large. Excellent." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Since 1984, Cape Crest has developed an international following for its unique expression of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Barrel fermented, with a touch of Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris, it is concentrated and complex with toast, citrus blossom, pear, and stone fruit characters.

ORIGIN
Cape Crest and its gannet symbol refer to Cape Kidnappers, the southern point of Hawke’s Bay, home to the world’s largest mainland colony of these remarkable marine birds.

VINEYARDS
The fully ripe grapes for Cape Crest ’22 were hand-harvested from individual plots within Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between February 28 and March 13, 2022.

WINEMAKING
The separate parcels were each destemmed and lightly crushed, then cooled before a brief period of skin contact. Following pressing and cold-settling, they were run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barrels for fermentation. The resulting wines were aged on lees, with regular stirring, for a further 11 months before bottling in February 2023. Cape Crest ’22 is a blend of 88% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Sauvignon Gris, and 5% Sémillon.

CELLARING POTENTIAL
Cape Crest ’22 will continue to evolve in the bottle for 10 years from harvest.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS AT BOTTLING
• pH: 3.32
• Total Acidity (as Tartaric): 7.0 g/L
• Alcohol: 13.0%
• Residual Sugar: Dry