Following the phenomenal global success of the first vintage of Invivo X, SJP Sauvignon Blanc, Sarah Jessica Parker and Invivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron have made their 2020 second release together, virtually. In the world’s first ever virtual winemaking session, New York-based Sarah Jessica dialled Tim and Rob in from their winery in Te Kauwhata, New Zealand to create and sign off their latest blend, over a two-hour Zoom chat.

Sarah Jessica has pushed the style a little further this year, for a softer wine with more oak influence. For an increased oak touch, we used new French barriques and hogsheads as well as non-barrel blonde oak products and we employed more pre-fermentation maceration than in 2019.

We were really after an elevated phenolic structure with a hint of savory toast, but to be balanced we needed a great deal of weight and flesh among the structure. The vineyards provided this in abundance and with the addition of some extra solids during ferment, helped maximise the textual element. The final tool was a good amount of malolactic fermentation to naturally soften the wine and add that special character the malic acid conversion does.