Two Rivers Founder and Winemaker David Clouston is ecstatic. He said “This is a massive achievement for us, especially in a year like this one, where the wine quality out there is exceptional. This award couldn’t have come at a better time, as New Zealand emerges from COVID-19 lockdown and the New World Wine Awards trophy offers an immediate and profound impacts on sales.”

Rated at 96 points the judges’ comments from the competition were glowing “Aromas and flavours of red capsicums and nectarine with a captivating creamy texture. Crisp acidity and great concentration with fruit weight flows through a long finish.”

Two Rivers Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is available at most New World supermarkets throughout New Zealand and online.

Visit: http://www.newworld.co.nz for more information.

Initially focused on Sauvignon Blanc, Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) is an initiative comprised of 45 members.

Members must sign a licence agreement adhering to the following standards and quality parameters, declaring each wine submitted is:

• Made from 100% Marlborough grapes
• Made from 100% certified Sustainable Winegrower New Zealand vineyards
• Bottled in New Zealand
• Made only from grapes grown at the appropriate cropping level*

*Each year the organisation decides on an appropriate cropping level, expressed as tonnes of grapes per hectare.
If grapes used to produce the certified wine do not comply with the appropriate cropping level, then the winery may submit the wine with any necessary supporting evidence to the AMW wine tasting panel which at its absolute discretion may permit that wine to become certified.

Members can communicate their association by applying the AMW logo to labels and promotional material. Two Rivers is using the AMW logo on their Sauvignon Blanc back labels from the 2018 vintage onward.

The largest and most influential international wine competition in America, the San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC) has been setting the standard for professional wine judging since its debut in 1980.
A Double Gold in this wine show means the wine was –
“Outstanding; earning top marks from all judges”.
More information on the show can be found here: http://sfwinecomp.com/

Two Rivers has been making sauvignon blanc since the winery’s first vintage in 2004. Their flagship wine, ‘Convergence’ Sauvignon Blanc, has enjoyed international success for years and winemaker/owner David Clouston believes sauvignon blanc should be cherished.
“Our mission is to select the finest parcels of fruit from the banks of both the Wairau and Awatere Rivers to craft wines that capture and emphasise this region’s intense power. The fruit for this wine is sourced from five separate Marlborough vineyards, each bringing a unique flavour spectrum and giving an abundance of fruit profiles to work with. The wine is then aged on fine yeast lees for 3 months, increasing the texture, complexity and mouth-feel of the palate, making a more age-worthy and food-friendly style”.

The Convergence Sauvignon Blanc has received many other notable accolades including the following:
• “The appeal of this style is undeniable.” – RH on Jancisrobinson.com, UK – 17/20
• “Impressive purity and bright, high energy flavours.” – Bob Campbell MW, NZ – 94 points
• “A stunning and exceptionally aromatic Sauvignon Blanc.” – Matthew Jukes, UK
• “A terrific Marlborough sauvignon blanc” Vic Harradine, CAN – 4.5 stars
• “A touch of complexity and finely balanced.”– Michael Cooper, NZ – 4.5 stars

Owner and winemaker, Dave Clouston, has been making Sauvignon Blanc since Two Rivers first vintage in 2004. Our flagship wine: ‘Convergence’ Sauvignon Blanc is a success story, enjoying worldwide acclaim, but by 2013 Dave wanted to try and make a less fruit driven, more complex, textural, age worthy style of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough’s Southern Valleys… And thus the first ‘Altitude’ Sauvignon Blanc was born.

Two vintages on, we have just released our ‘Altitude’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015. This time, Dave has tweaked up the interesting notch further, adding a concrete egg component to the wine. 40% was wild fermented in a concrete egg tank, while 60% went wild in 8 year old hogshead barrels. The wine was then aged for 10 months in these vessels, with a small portion going through MLF.

“I think barrel is great for texture and weight but the egg gives the wine more purity, elegance and freshness while still adding texture and complexity,” says Dave.

“Concrete is slightly more porous than stainless steel, so it lets the wine evolve naturally and gain more complex, savoury characters.”

The oval shape of the egg tank also plays a unique role in the aging process. “As the accumulation of lees increases from the widest part of the tank to the narrower part, the lees slowly starts rolling over itself, allowing a continuously mixing of the lees without any external interruption of the wine,” explains Dave. “I’m not sure if the egg is better than barrel but I think it brings a certain intellectual component to the wine which I really enjoy.”

Dave believes Sauvignon Blanc should be cherished and this exciting example demonstrates how diverse and age worthy Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc can be.

Owner and winemaker, Dave Clouston, is ecstatic with not only one, but two of his wines, taking out no.1 in Cuisine Magazine’s Dec/Jan issue (on sale on 14th December 2015). Throughout its 28 years, Cuisine has become a New Zealand household name and it has an international reputation for excellence. Its team of experts have scored the wines as follows:

TWO RIVERS ‘CONVERGENCE’ SAUVIGNON BLANC 2015
No.1 Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand and 5 stars

“This is a thoughtful expression,” noted Jack Glover. “And there’s an energy about the fruit profile that I love.”