The beautiful and mysterious Paper Nautilus is rarely seen in the open ocean but occasionally their shells wash up on secluded beaches around the Marlborough Sounds. With its paper-like shells, its delicate geometry and feather-weight texture, this distant cousin of the Nautilus in our logo has become the inspiration for a new direction of Sauvignon Blanc winemaking for the Nautilus team.
35 years’ experience has led us to prefer palate weight, texture and length in Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc over brazen aromatic fruitiness. The Paper Nautilus takes this approach one step further. The wine is produced as a single, small-batch parcel using innovative viticulture and winemaking. Fruit is sourced from our Renwick Vineyard, the oldest we own, and located in the heart of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley.
Hand-picked grapes from this heritage site were fermented with a non-traditional wine yeast at a warmer temperature than usual in a large old oak cuve. The resulting wine has more subtle fruit and greater textural qualities than the classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc style.
Only 330 cases were produced in 2019 so this wine may be hard to find. Rated 96 Points by Cameron Douglas MS – ‘Complex, fine, layered, delicate, pure and enticing bouquet. Aromas and flavours of citrus blossoms and apple, layers of mineral, fine lees autolysis and gentle wood spice suggestions. Equally complex, layered and long on the palate. Flavours mirror the nose and develop more complexity as the wine relaxes in the glass. Pure and complex with indulgent textures and flavours’.
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