Erikson & Caradin, Hazel & Axe Sauvignon Blanc, 2023

93 POINTS for the ERIKSON & CARADIN HAZEL & AXE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2023. Ninety-three! That's not a fluke, that's not a friendly score from a generous critic having a good day— that is a serious, stand-up-and-take-notice number for a Sauvignon Blanc that has absolutely no business being this good at this price. ​ The world of Sauvignon Blanc has two sacred benchmarks: the flinty, mineral precision of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire, and the explosive, tropical fireworks of Marlborough's Wairau and Awatere Valleys. Great estates spend decades trying to thread that needle. ​ Hazel & Axe 2023 threads it brilliantly and the critics noticed. "Vibrant, precise and genuinely exciting — passion fruit and grapefruit colliding with real stony minerality and a finish that just won't stop." That's the kind of note that makes you pull the trigger without a second thought. ​ Pale gold, shimmering green at the rim, and then the nose opens up: ripe gooseberry, white grapefruit, fresh-cut grass, and a crushed wet-stone quality that would earn a respectful nod from any Sancerre producer. Crisp, electric, and mouth-watering to the last drop. Sancerre charges three times this. Just saying!