Blank Canvas
Holdaway Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2026 750ml

‘This single-vineyard wine is grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley. Harvested from vines averaging 25 years old, the vigorous 2025 vintage was tank-fermented, aged briefly on its light yeast lees and bottled by August. Pale lemon/green, it is mouth-filling and dry (2 grams/litre of residual sugar), with pure, well-ripened, passionfruit/lime flavours, showing excellent intensity, and a crisp, finely textured, sustained finish. Best drinking mid-2026+.’

5 STARS | MICHAEL COOPER MA ONZM | DECEMBER 2025

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‘If for some reason the wines of Blank Canvas have eluded you to date, it really is time you got on board. These guys are making some of the most exciting wines for the region and they are very much behind the push to ensure that Marlborough can be seen as a region making great Sauvignon Blanc, rather than the bog average tankerloads headed to supermarkets and which is then foisted on most of the world. In fairness, those tankerloads are not disappearing any time soon, but it doesn’t mean that there can’t also be some superb examples of the variety made here. From the Holdaway Vineyard at Dillon’s Point in the Lower Wairau, fermentation is in stainless steel with maturation following, on lees. A cracking Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The colour is lemon/green. This is beautifully constructed, refined and focused, with direction, great length and immaculate balance. The nose offers tropical hints with gooseberries, hints of passionfruit and citrus. A vibrant style which dances across the palate. There is great length here. A wine which can be enjoyed over the next half dozen years. If you like Sauvignon Blanc, this is for you. A cracking Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The colour is lemon/green. This is beautifully constructed, refined and focused, with direction, great length and immaculate balance. The nose offers tropical hints with gooseberries, hints of passionfruit and citrus. A vibrant style which dances across the palate. There is great length here. A wine which can be enjoyed over the next half dozen years. If you like Sauvignon Blanc, this is for you.’

95 POINTS | KEN GARGETT | WINE PILOT | JANUARY 2026

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‘The 2025 Holdaway Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is from the Holdaway vineyard in Dillon's Point, a growing area right on the coast, at the mouth of the main Wairau Valley. Aromatically, the wine exhibits all the pungency and concentration of the area, yet it shows restraint too, and I like that. Here, there is passion fruit, pineapple husk, white pepper, wet linen, chalk and brine. In the mouth, the wine is textural and chalky, long and restrained—it's very good indeed. A classy offering here, it's true to its place but crafted in a sophisticated manner—or perhaps farmed to achieve this. Either way, it's very good. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.’

From: New Zealand: A (Mostly) South Island Wrap (April 2026)

95 POINTS | ERIN LARKIN | WINE ADVOCATE | APRIL 2026

*Highest score awarded to a classic Marlborough sauvignon Blanc

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‘Palest gold in color, this wine smells of blackcurrant leaf and lime zest with a hint of wet wool. In the mouth, stony flavors of lemon pith, green apple, black currant leaf, and wet wool have an interesting savory quality and a faintly chalky texture. Excellent acidity with a stony resonance in the finish. Regeneratively farmed fruit, 25-year-old vines, machine harvested. Fermented in stainless steel and matured on light lees.’

9-9.5 POINTS - TOP EQUAL SCORING SAUVIGNON BLANC | ALDER YARROW | VINOGRAPHY.COM | DECEMBER 2025

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‘There’s no mistaking the impact of variety here with a nose of nettles and dried sage, crumbled dry clay then a rush of citrus fruit scents from lemon skin to grapefruit flesh. There’s a definitive saline quality to the lift and suggestion of tropical fruits. A dry wine with a very nice palate squeeze, layers of fruit flavours from citrus to white pineapple and peach then back to dried herb and clay. Crisp and dry with loads of acidity, excellent balance and length with best drinking from day of purchase through 2029.’

94 POINTS | CAMERON DOUGLAS MS | FEBRUARY 2026

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‘From the Holdaway vineyard in Dillons Point, which is farmed regeneratively. Amazing aromatics of elderflower, tomato leaf and green pepper. Crystalline palate with lemon and grapefruit, as well as some green pepper, and keen acidity. Such lovely fruit here: it’s an amazing expression of Marlborough Sauvignon.’

93 POINTS | JAMIE GOODE | WINE ANORAK | JANUARY 2026

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‘The Holdway vineyard is perched in Dillons Point in the lower Wairau on the eastern edge. Abundant in blackberry leaf, shiso and yellow guava. Buttercups and marigold flowers. You can taste sunshine and sun-kissed tropical fruits. There is a surprising dryness to the palate, its flesh pulled tight, wound and coiled with acidity that springs forward. Some cashew-nut creaminess to finish and a slight bitter tonic edge that keeps you going back for more.’

93 POINTS | SHANTEH WALE | HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION | MARCH 2026

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‘Pure, juicy and tense, offering fresh limes, passion fruit, crushed rocks, orange blossoms and a touch of gooseberries on the nose. Tense, polished and very textured, with a medium body and a chalky finish. Very clean and balanced. Drink or hold. Screw cap.’

92 POINTS | JAMES SUCKLING | OCTOBER 2025

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‘Succulent and serene, the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc Holdaway Vineyard offers a mellow interpretation of Marlborough. Powdery textures, finesse and balance are its key characteristics. Expect elderflower, honeydew melon and an intriguing spearmint note, all of which are rather attractive. There's no fancy-pants winemaking here, just clean, pure fruit translated with minimal fiddling. The result is all the better for it.’

From: 2025 New Zealand White Wines: Pump Up the Volume (Feb 2026)

91 POINTS | REBECCA GIBB MW | VINOUS | FEBRUARY 2026

*One of the top classic Sauvignon Blanc scores for 2025 in the report

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‘All the classic Marlborough aromas of capsicum, blackcurrant leaf and a touch of passion fruit but without being overly pungent. In the mouth, this is surprisingly rich, gently chewy and creamy at the same time. The texture has added to the depth first provided by the fruit. Firm, mouth-filling and fresh. No unwanted sweeteness so it finishes long, salty and dry. A complex style that still highlights Sauvignon’s fruit profile. I think it must be quite difficult to make distinctive Sauvignon Blanc but this is distinct in its depth and complexity while retaining vibrant fruit without going down the reduction/struck-match route. Not one of the cheapest Marlborough Sauvignons but GV. Really long finish – with that lovely leesy grip.’

17 POINTS | JULIA HARDING MW | JANCISROBINSON.COM | NOVEMBER 2025

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 ‘Alongside some signature Marlborough flavours of passionfruit and white currant and pink grapefruit, there is something that has hints of Chablis in the dry minerality and salty acidity as well. “Love the acidity and ‘seed’ tones through the palate” appear in the tasting notes. Some richness and depth are also a feature, before a finish that carries for some distance – pithy and dry.’

SELECTED TOP 10 TASTING (#6) - NZ SAUVIGNON BLANC - WINEFOLIO | DECEMBER 2025

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‘Bright, vibrant nose, ripe gooseberry, a touch of smoke/wet wool, spices, preserved lemon, capsicum and cut grass developing with air. Ripely fruited, flitting between tropical fruit and gooseberry, a grassy undertow, this hits the classical SB buttons but with a bit of class. A little prickle on the palate, just bursting with flavour, great intensity and carry.’

EXCELLENT TO OUTSTANDING | MARK HENDERSON | OTAGO DAILY TIMES | MARCH 2026

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‘Purity and power combine with a lingering finish that reveals a range of citrus flavours. A wine with true finesse that can be enjoyed with or without food. Refreshingly dry wine with a salty, refreshing tang’.

BOB CAMPBELL | KIAORA MAGAZINE | APRIL 2026