Mount Fishtail's Secret Weapon: Sur Lies Aging in Marlborough

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Mount Fishtail Surly Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 offers a unique twist on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc by using Bordeaux clones and French sur lie aging techniques. Available at Costco for $12.69, this family-owned winery produces a wine that's distinctly different from 99% of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs on the market.

• Sur lie winemaking leaves dead yeast and grape residue in contact with the wine, adding flavor and structure
• Mount Fishtail uses rare Sauvignon Blanc clones from Bordeaux rather than typical New Zealand varieties
• The wine features tropical fruit, pineapple, and peach flavors instead of traditional grassiness
• At 13.5% alcohol, it has enough body to pair with seafood, fancy salads, and especially pineapple shrimp
• The vineyard's low yield (half the typical amount) concentrates flavors as vines focus energy on fewer grapes
• Widely available for $12-15, representing excellent value for a unique, high-quality Sauvignon Blanc

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey, domain, dave, cheap wine fighter, calm.
Another wine review.
Like we always do, we write upa wine, value priced wine, and
this time we've got one fromCostco which was $12.69, which
indicates a manufacturer'sspecial.
But this wine normally costsbetween $12 and $15 anyway.

(00:26):
It's the Mount Fishtail SurlyMarlboro Sauvignon Blanc 2024.
And of course you're saying,okay, it's Marlboro Sauvignon
Blanc.
So what hasn't been done beforeand this is where that Surly in
the name comes from, it'sS-U-R-L-I-E, it's often from
France hasn't been done before.
And this is where that surlisin the name comes from.
It's S-U-R-L-I-E, it's oftenfrom France, it is enlis

(00:51):
O-N-L-E-E-S.
What that means?
The lis are the yeast.
After it's done its job, thedead yeast falls to the bottom
of the tank along with whatevergrape skin or grape pulp,
whatever that got through thescreens during the grape

(01:12):
pressing process, and it fallsto the bottom of the tank of the
fermented wine.
And if you leave it in therewith the wine, all that residue
on the bottom gives flavor andstructure.
And if you happen to stir thelees, you might see that as

(01:32):
batonnage.
Batonnage means stick.
It means I stir the lees.
You know it's stir a bunch ofdead stuff with a stick, but
batonage sounds in France,sounds really great.
But there you go.
But it makes a difference.
So what else makes a difference?

(01:54):
The Mount Fishtail?
They're a family owned wineryin the Waru district, upper Waru
, which is in the heights of thenorthern of Marlborough, the
northern end of the South Island.
They are one of the very, very,very few wineries that use

(02:17):
Sauvignon Blanc clones fromBordeaux.
Bordeaux Blanc is SauvignonBlanc and Semillon and those
wines can be some of the winesthat are the most expensive and
the longest lasting.
They can go 25 years in theworld.
Now you can also get valuepriced ones there too, and
that's not what this is.

(02:38):
But that is Sauvignon Blancfrom.
There is a deal and the Surlyis the way they make it in the
lower valley with Sancerre andall those really good lower
valley Sauvignon Blancs.
That just tastes delicious.

(02:58):
Not that Marlboro doesn't, butthis wine, this Mount Fishtail,
sir Lee, is made different andMount Fishtail says it's
different than 99% of all theother New Zealand Sauvignon
Blancs.
I'm gonna take a sip.
It's got a real tropical fruit,pineapple, peach flavor to it

(03:37):
which is kind of different.
You don't get that grassiness.
It's delicious.
I mean this is a spring's dayin a bottle.
I mean the nose is bright andpretty, the flavors are all like
a potpourri of fruit and citrus.
It's really kind of a prettywine For under $13,.

(04:00):
This wine actually brings a lotto the table.
You put a nice chill on thiswine and bring on the summer
heat.
I mean this is just one ofthose really good sipping wines.
It's got enough body.
It's 13.5 on the alcohol andyou could have a fancy salad
with this.
You could have shrimp, youcould have whitefish, you could

(04:21):
do that type thing.
Crab legs would go fine withthis.
Though, if you can get thatpineapple thing Pineapple,
pineapple, shrimp, coated shrimpI mean all those things are
here for this inexpensive,easy-to-drink bottle of wine.
It's at Costco, it's everywhereelse.

(04:42):
I haven't seen it onlineanywhere for over $15.
And it's been, you know, close$12 to $13, $14, $15.
Not a bad price for a winethat's unique, because you're
getting Bordeaux, you're gettingLower Valley and you're getting
New Zealand, and it's notexactly any of them.
I'm gonna take another sip.

(05:09):
Another thing they did is they?
The yield of the vineyard isabout half of the typical yield,
and when you get less grapes,that means the vines have to put
more production into fewergrapes, which you tend to get
better grapes.
That way you can overgrow avineyard.

(05:30):
You can have too many grapes.
So there's only so muchgoodness for the vines to give,
and you get too many and you'rekind of not as good.
So here they're, the vines aregiving the grapes all that they
got to give, and along with thesurly, which works, along with
the, the clones, which work, andalong with the what's in your

(05:51):
glass, which really works well.
So, adios, that's it for me.
Domaine Davis, this is a goodsummer wine the Mount Fish Tale,
sur Lee Marlboro, sauvignonBlanc 2024.
I got it for $12.69 at Costco,but it's available elsewhere for
around the same price.
Adios, keep it cheap.
I've got another.
I've got a Sonoma cab fromCostco coming up next.

(06:15):
We'll do that in a couple ofdays.
But this is I didn't know whatto expect and I got something
good.
So, adios, I'll talk toeverybody a bit later.
Bye-bye, keep it cheap.