Thursday, June 26, 2025In keeping with the recent trend of sipping only whites and rosés, white wine review is a lovely, sustainably crafted Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from the Waipara Valley in North Canterbury, New Zealand. This white wine arrived at the LCBO earlier this month in the LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.
It is produced by Tiki Wine & Vineyards, a winery that was established in the early 2000s by Royce and Sue McKean. Their dream was to earn a grubstake to create something of their own in their homeland of New Zealand. In order to achieve this, they packed up their bags, with two young daughters in tow, and headed to Europe for the next 5 years as they worked and saved up their hard-earned dollars. By the time the girls had started school in the U.K., there was a strong pull to give them the same amazing upbringing that they experienced while growing up in NZ. Thus, they packed up their bags again and returned to New Zealand, settling in the seaside village of Sumner, Christchurch, not far from some of Royce's family.
A year later, they found an old 325-hectare sheep farm in Waipara, North Canterbury, that they fell in love with and thought was perfectly suited to growing grapes. With limited funds and no track record to speak of in grapes or wine, the McKeans had to employ amazing people to help them out - the team they now call the Tiki whānau (family). At the beginning, they planted 60 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. They learned a lot that first year, and began preparing the soil to plant the remaining hectares of land. By the end of 2006, they had fully planted their first vineyard - Waiata Vineyard in Waipara, while also expanding their plantings into Marlborough. In 2009, they finally got to taste the fruits of their labour as they released their first vintage of the Tiki Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. This wine received numerous accolades and confirmed their earlier thinking that this area in Waipara had great potential for vine cultivation.
The name 'Tiki' was chosen in honour of Royce's great-great-great grandfather, Ngāti Uenuku Chieftain, Tiki Tere Mihi. Tiki Wine & Winevyards is an indigenous NZ Māori wine producer that is committed to sustainable winegrowing with an uncompromising commitment to quality. They care for their vines under the guiding Māori principles of Kaitiakitanga: guardianship, protection, and preservation of the earth. In addition to honouring Royce's great-great-great grandfather, the name 'Tiki' also represents a hand-carved Māori treasure which, when gifted, bestows good fortune and love on others. Tiki crafts their wines with this same spirit in mind. Starting from very humble beginnings, there is a sense of adventure and feeling of freedom that the McKeans get from living in New Zealand and is at the very heart of Tiki and the bespoke wines that they produce.
Tiki has several ranges of wines within their portfolio, with this wine coming from their flagship Single Vineyard range. Each wine in the Single Vineyard range is crafted by the winemaking team using selected parcels of fruit grown on the doorstep of the winery in the North Canterbury wine region of New Zealand. The individual parcels are selected in order to offer the best expression of time, the people, and place in each wine.
This white wine is crafted with 100% Sauvignon Blanc that was grown in the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, on the South Island of New Zealand, just south of Marlborough. After allowing the grapes to reach optimum levels of ripeness, each block of Sauvignon Blanc was harvested individually in the early morning to preserve freshness and varietal characteristics. The free-run juice was kept separate from the pressing portion to provide the wine with greater finesse. The juice was cold-settled, then inoculated with an aromatic yeast and fermented at a relatively low temperature of 13–15°C to enhance the aroma and flavour profile. To add complexity, 5% of the juice was fermented in old French oak barrels. After completing fermentation, the wine was left on its lees to enhance mouthfeel and texture, then racked and stored in steel tanks until final blending in June.
The growing season in 2023/2024 brought the return of El Niño and a hot and dry season that was dominated in the first half by strong winds. Mixed weather patterns saw large swings in day-to-day temperatures, along with rainfall at critical times, which resulted in fewer and smaller bunches than normal during flowering. As the warm weather settled in, the team at Tiki were able to use water from their own reservoirs to ensure healthy canopies and keep the fruit ripening through to harvest. The end of the season was dry with minimal disease pressure, while harvest was earlier than normal, with warm temperatures and low yields. From a brilliant vintage that delivered well-developed flavours, let's see how this 2024 Sauvignon Blanc from Waipara Valley in New Zealand is tasting tonight...
Screw cap. Open, fragrant, and highly aromatic, this has lovely zesty lemon/lime citrus, guava, kiwi, pyrazine (jalapeño pepper), and passion fruit aromas nuanced further with green herbs, gooseberry, and faint leesy mineral notes. The mid-weighted palate is dry and ripe with zesty lemon/lemon citrus, passion fruit, guava, gooseberry flavours. Touch spicy on the mid-palate, along with leesy mineral tones. Acids are crisp and well-balanced. Delicious lemon/lime citrus, passion fruit, guava, and leesy mineral notes linger on the long, crisp, well-balanced, and dry finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90+ pts
Other lovely wines by Tiki Wine & Vineyards can be ordered through their Agent - Churchill Cellars Ltd.
It is produced by Tiki Wine & Vineyards, a winery that was established in the early 2000s by Royce and Sue McKean. Their dream was to earn a grubstake to create something of their own in their homeland of New Zealand. In order to achieve this, they packed up their bags, with two young daughters in tow, and headed to Europe for the next 5 years as they worked and saved up their hard-earned dollars. By the time the girls had started school in the U.K., there was a strong pull to give them the same amazing upbringing that they experienced while growing up in NZ. Thus, they packed up their bags again and returned to New Zealand, settling in the seaside village of Sumner, Christchurch, not far from some of Royce's family.
A year later, they found an old 325-hectare sheep farm in Waipara, North Canterbury, that they fell in love with and thought was perfectly suited to growing grapes. With limited funds and no track record to speak of in grapes or wine, the McKeans had to employ amazing people to help them out - the team they now call the Tiki whānau (family). At the beginning, they planted 60 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. They learned a lot that first year, and began preparing the soil to plant the remaining hectares of land. By the end of 2006, they had fully planted their first vineyard - Waiata Vineyard in Waipara, while also expanding their plantings into Marlborough. In 2009, they finally got to taste the fruits of their labour as they released their first vintage of the Tiki Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. This wine received numerous accolades and confirmed their earlier thinking that this area in Waipara had great potential for vine cultivation.
The name 'Tiki' was chosen in honour of Royce's great-great-great grandfather, Ngāti Uenuku Chieftain, Tiki Tere Mihi. Tiki Wine & Winevyards is an indigenous NZ Māori wine producer that is committed to sustainable winegrowing with an uncompromising commitment to quality. They care for their vines under the guiding Māori principles of Kaitiakitanga: guardianship, protection, and preservation of the earth. In addition to honouring Royce's great-great-great grandfather, the name 'Tiki' also represents a hand-carved Māori treasure which, when gifted, bestows good fortune and love on others. Tiki crafts their wines with this same spirit in mind. Starting from very humble beginnings, there is a sense of adventure and feeling of freedom that the McKeans get from living in New Zealand and is at the very heart of Tiki and the bespoke wines that they produce.
Tiki has several ranges of wines within their portfolio, with this wine coming from their flagship Single Vineyard range. Each wine in the Single Vineyard range is crafted by the winemaking team using selected parcels of fruit grown on the doorstep of the winery in the North Canterbury wine region of New Zealand. The individual parcels are selected in order to offer the best expression of time, the people, and place in each wine.
This white wine is crafted with 100% Sauvignon Blanc that was grown in the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, on the South Island of New Zealand, just south of Marlborough. After allowing the grapes to reach optimum levels of ripeness, each block of Sauvignon Blanc was harvested individually in the early morning to preserve freshness and varietal characteristics. The free-run juice was kept separate from the pressing portion to provide the wine with greater finesse. The juice was cold-settled, then inoculated with an aromatic yeast and fermented at a relatively low temperature of 13–15°C to enhance the aroma and flavour profile. To add complexity, 5% of the juice was fermented in old French oak barrels. After completing fermentation, the wine was left on its lees to enhance mouthfeel and texture, then racked and stored in steel tanks until final blending in June.
The growing season in 2023/2024 brought the return of El Niño and a hot and dry season that was dominated in the first half by strong winds. Mixed weather patterns saw large swings in day-to-day temperatures, along with rainfall at critical times, which resulted in fewer and smaller bunches than normal during flowering. As the warm weather settled in, the team at Tiki were able to use water from their own reservoirs to ensure healthy canopies and keep the fruit ripening through to harvest. The end of the season was dry with minimal disease pressure, while harvest was earlier than normal, with warm temperatures and low yields. From a brilliant vintage that delivered well-developed flavours, let's see how this 2024 Sauvignon Blanc from Waipara Valley in New Zealand is tasting tonight...
Tasting Note:
TIKI SINGLE VINEYARD NORTH CANTERBURY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2024 - Sustainable, South Island, New Zealand (#19767) (XD) - $23.95Screw cap. Open, fragrant, and highly aromatic, this has lovely zesty lemon/lime citrus, guava, kiwi, pyrazine (jalapeño pepper), and passion fruit aromas nuanced further with green herbs, gooseberry, and faint leesy mineral notes. The mid-weighted palate is dry and ripe with zesty lemon/lemon citrus, passion fruit, guava, gooseberry flavours. Touch spicy on the mid-palate, along with leesy mineral tones. Acids are crisp and well-balanced. Delicious lemon/lime citrus, passion fruit, guava, and leesy mineral notes linger on the long, crisp, well-balanced, and dry finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90+ pts
Other lovely wines by Tiki Wine & Vineyards can be ordered through their Agent - Churchill Cellars Ltd.
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