Mount Nelson Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018

Arguably, no one wine family has transformed an already historic wine region quite like the Antinori Family in Tuscany. Many have called their contribution a revolution and that’s pretty much spot on.

Marquis Antinori is credited with crafting the first ever Super Tuscan, with his “Tignarello”. His sons, perhaps the most famous brothers in Italian wine, Lodovico Antonori and Piero Antinori both added their own contributions to the new category. Marchese would go on to found Tenuta dell’Ornellaia where he would make the Ornellaia and Masseto wines.

The brothers also teamed up to found Tenuta di Biserno, one of the most talked about collaborations in Italian wine history. But they have another collaboration up their sleeve which is arguably even more interesting.

Starting in the 90s, Lodovico became increasingly obsessed with Sauvignon Blanc. Where he could have easily planted Sangiovese to add into one of their figure bottlings, he planted Sauvignon Blanc – mostly for his personal enjoyment. But though excellent, it was never quite good enough. It’s a family with pretty high standards.

Finally, in 2003, the brothers purchased part of the historic Meadowbank property in the heart of New Zealand’s Marlborough district near the mouth of Cloudy Bay. With their Tuscan Reds pulling in three figures each vintage, the two can afford to pursue their passion project to the fullest extent, while also charging ordinary New Zealand prices. This is no ordinary NZ SB.