93 pts Wine Spectator Web Only – 2019 >
Sweet pea, yellow apple, honeysuckle, heather and verbena notes are seamlessly woven here, with streaks of quinine, savory and tarragon providing intriguing contrast in the background. Drink now through 2023
93 pts Tim Atkin MW
Always released with some bottle age, this unoaked blend of Sauvignon Blanc with 12% Chardonnay develops stylishly in bottle. Complex and refined, it’s more of a blend than a utilitarian combination of varietals, showing savoury, smoky complexity and real length.
91 pts Wine Advocate Issue #215 Oct 2014 –
The 2009 Sandstone (Sauvignon Blanc) is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Chardonnay, the latter matured in clay amphora for around 6 months and the rest in stainless steel. It was kept on the lees for six months with no malolactic fermentation. The idea is to have two or three years bottle maturation. It has a potent nose: nettle, gooseberry, sous-bois and grass clippings emerging at full throttle. The palate is well-balanced with nettle and Mirin notes on the entry, then later dried honey, grilled walnut, tinned peas and asparagus coming through. As usual, this is very distinctive, perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but certainly it has its place.