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On the October 16, 1848, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.5 shook the Marlborough region. Land moved as much as 24 feet horizontally along a major fault line of at least 85 miles in the Awatere Valley, 20 miles south of the town of Blenheim. This area is the source for the grapes used to craft this wine, ergo the name, Fault Line. Marlborough is at the top of the South Island, and can be easily reached by air or ferry from Wellington. The city of Blenheim is at the region's heart, and is just a short 20 minute drive from the breathtaking beauty of the Marlborough Sounds. Over the hills and to the south are the Awatere Valley and the seaside town of Kaikoura. Marlborough is New Zealand's largest wine growing region. It has an enviable international reputation for producing some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world. It also makes very good Chardonnay and Riesling and is fast developing a reputation for high quality Pinot Noir. Of the region's 25 thousand acres of grapes (almost half the national crop) one third are planted to Sauvignon Blanc. Lots of sun, cool nights, low autumn rains and alluvial soils combine to make Marlborough one of the world's great wine producing regions. Most wineries can be reached after an easy drive from Blenheim, although the radius of land under cultivation is rapidly spreading. Though grapes have been grown here for nearly 200 years, the New Zealand star only brightened in the last decade or so. They went along making wonderful wines and consuming them locally until the late 1980s when the rest of the world got on board and never left. The grapes for this Sauvignon Blanc came from several vineyards in the Southern Valleys. Harvesting took place in the cool of the morning day once the grapes had reached optimum flavor development and ripeness. The grapes were then transported to the winery and pressed off with minimal skin contact. The resulting juice was cool fermented in stainless steel to retain freshness and zing. Our selection features a pale straw color with green edges, aromas of gooseberry, kiwifruit and underlying herbal notes. On the palate, a light-bodied, dry, crisp wine with typical Marlborough flavors of stone fruit and citrus. April 2010 Limited Series Newsletter (.pdf)
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