Recently at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2026, our ROHE Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2025 by Rapaura Springs, has been awarded Best in Show and 97 points!
This wine was the only Sauvignon Blanc to receive a Best in Show medal, earning its place among the top 50 wines selected from almost 17,000 entries from 58 countries.
As the highest honour awarded at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), Best in Show recognises an exceptionally small group of wines that stand out for their quality, authenticity and character. After multiple rounds of blind tasting by leading international wine experts, only 50 wines are awarded the title each year.
"We have some truly outstanding wines amongst our Best in Show. I loved the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc we found, a wine with the kind of class and grain we've all been hunting for in a non-Loire Sauvignon" – Andrew Jefford, DWWA Co-Chair
From the Judges
"This is a hugely impressive wine. Silver in colour, it has arresting vitality and energy on the nose, but unusual complexity, too: melon, mango, pear, Japanese citrus, resin, thyme and rue were among the notes our judges detected, woven together with great skill and discernment, and with no note dominating or lacking refinement. On the palate, it's excitingly flavoury in all of the ways the aromas sketched out – yet it's also soft, complex, textured and hauntingly savoury as well as floral and fruity. 2026 was an outstanding DWWA year for New Zealand Sauvignon, and this layered, high-finesse yet at the same time amply drinkable wine had to see off many competitors to win its place in the Top 50."
Featured in Forbes
The accolades continued with ROHE Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2025 by Rapaura Springs being featured in Forbes' roundup of The World's Best White Wines, According to the Decanter World Wine Awards.
"ROHE Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2025 by Rapaura Springs is everything the Loire is not. Its stainless steel fermented, unoaked and exuberantly aromatic. The Blind River sub-region sits at the cooler southern edge of Marlborough, producing a more restrained, focused style than the Wairau Valley. The nose bursts with passionfruit, fresh lime and cut grass with a white peach undertone. The palate is bright and razor-edged, with flavours of lime, gooseberry and green capsicum. The finish is clean and persistent. That it falls into the $15-$20 bracket makes it one of the best value whites on the list."
Information Credits
- Decanter | Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 Best in Show: Top 50 Wines – Olivia Mason
- Decanter | Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 Results Revealed: Global Wine Quality Reaches New Heights – Olivia Mason
- Forbes | The World's Best White Wines, According to the Decanter World Wine Awards – Joseph V. Micallef
