LAS Vino SBDB Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Tasting Notes

• Aromatics: Restrained passionfruit and just-ripe tropical fruit sit behind lemon, lime, grapefruit and subtle savoury complexity.
• Palate: Compact and concentrated, with citrus and gentle tropical fruit carried by energetic acidity.
• Minerality: Pronounced sea-salt and briny characters run through the wine, giving it a strong coastal identity.
• Texture: Savoury and substantial, with amphora and skin contact contributing shape and mouthfeel.
• Acidity: Bright and precise, creating energy without making the wine feel simple or sharply acidic.
• Finish: Long and mouthwatering, with chalky grip, brine and sizzling pink grapefruit.

Winemaker’s Note

L.A.S. Vino considers the 2025 SBDB one of its favourite wines of the vintage.

Much of the wine’s life was spent slowly fermenting and developing in clay amphora and large-format oak. Rather than emphasising the immediately recognisable tropical character of Sauvignon Blanc, the wine was made to capture the personality of its unusual vineyard.

The result is a wine built around texture, complexity and a distinct sense of place. Lemon, lime and passionfruit are joined by sea salt, savoury texture and mineral freshness.

It does not taste like conventional Sauvignon Blanc, and that is very much the point.

Wine Details

• Vintage: 2025
• Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
• Wine name: SBDB, Sauvignon Blanc Dynamic Blend
• Region: Margaret River, Western Australia
• Vineyard area: Northern end of the Cape
• Vineyard: Certified organic and biodynamic
• 2025 yield: Approximately one tonne per hectare
• Winemaker: Nic Peterkin
• Harvest: Handpicked
• Pressing: Combination of cold whole-bunch pressing and destemmed fruit
• Skin contact: 24 hours for one portion
• Fermentation vessels: Clay amphora and large-format oak
• Winemaking: Minimal intervention
• Winery recommended retail price: $65
• Bottle size: 750ml
• Serving temperature: Approximately 10°C

What Does SBDB Mean?

SBDB is presented as Sauvignon Blanc Dynamic Blend.

It is not a conventional blend of Sauvignon Blanc and another grape variety. Instead, the word “blend” refers to the different vineyard and winemaking components brought together in the final wine.

One portion was cold whole-bunch pressed to retain freshness and a clean citrus line. Another portion was destemmed and spent 24 hours on skins to build flavour, texture and gentle phenolic structure.

Fermentation in both clay amphora and large-format oak created further differences between the components. Blending these parcels allowed Nic Peterkin to combine freshness, concentration, savoury character and texture in the finished wine.

A Wild and Unusual Vineyard

The SBDB vineyard is located at the northern end of the Margaret River cape and is unlike most conventionally managed vineyards.

The site is certified organic and biodynamic. It faces north, with a small creek running through its centre and native plants and flowers growing beneath the vines.

There is no trellising, and the vines sprawl freely across the landscape. Pigs, geese, guinea fowl and cattle roam through the vineyard, contributing to a diverse and constantly changing agricultural environment.

No herbicides or pesticides are used, and the soil is not cultivated.

For the 2025 vintage, the vines were left completely unpruned. This unconventional approach resulted in an extraordinarily small yield of approximately one tonne per hectare.

Low yields do not automatically guarantee quality, but in this instance they contributed to fruit with impressive concentration, flavour and vineyard character.

Viticulture and Winemaking

All the fruit was picked by hand before being cooled overnight.

The following day, the bunches were carefully hand-sorted and separated into different winemaking components.

A portion was cold pressed as whole bunches. Whole-bunch pressing is a gentle technique that helps retain freshness, acidity and a clear citrus line.

A second portion was destemmed and left in contact with its skins for 24 hours in a cool room. This short period of skin contact extracted additional flavour, texture and gentle phenolic structure without turning the wine into an orange or heavily skin-contacted style.

After settling, the juice was fermented in a combination of clay amphora and large-format oak.

The wine progressed naturally through different stages of malolactic fermentation before a small protective sulphur addition was made shortly before blending.

Each component contributed something different. Amphora helped build texture and preserve savoury mineral character, while large-format oak allowed gradual development without obvious new-oak flavour.

The final wine was blended to balance fruit, acidity, sea-salt minerality and the untamed personality of its vineyard.

Sustainability

The vineyard used for SBDB is certified organic and biodynamic.

No herbicides or pesticides are applied, native plants grow beneath the vines and the soil is not routinely cultivated.

Animals move through the vineyard as part of a diverse farming environment rather than the site being treated as an isolated monoculture.

The vines are allowed to grow in an unusually free and untamed form, with no trellising and, during the 2025 season, no pruning.

This approach creates a vineyard that is constantly changing and encourages L.A.S. Vino to respond to the site rather than forcing it into a predetermined system.

Storage and Serving Tips

Serve L.A.S. Vino SBDB at approximately 10°C.

This is slightly warmer than many simple Sauvignon Blancs. Serving it too cold will hide its texture, minerality and savoury complexity.

If the bottle has been stored in a regular refrigerator, remove it around 10 minutes before serving.

Use a regular white wine glass or a medium-sized Chardonnay glass rather than a very small Sauvignon Blanc glass. A wider bowl gives the wine room to open and makes its texture and sea-salt character more expressive.

The wine can be enjoyed immediately, but giving it 15 to 20 minutes in the glass will reveal additional layers.

Its concentration and acidity should also allow it to develop over the medium term. Careful cellaring through approximately 2032 should bring more savoury and textural complexity.

Food Pairing Suggestions

• Fresh oysters: The wine’s brine and sea-salt character make this a natural combination.
• Kingfish sashimi: Citrus acidity and savoury texture suit fresh raw fish.
• Grilled prawns: Particularly good with lemon, garlic and fresh herbs.
• Grilled octopus: The wine has enough texture and savoury complexity for charred seafood.
• Fish tacos: Lime, coriander, cabbage and grilled fish complement its citrus and gentle tropical fruit.
• Thai-style salads: Fresh herbs, lime, chilli and fish sauce work with its acidity and saline finish.
• Goat’s cheese: Sauvignon Blanc’s freshness balances creamy cheese, while the savoury elements add complexity.
• Roast chicken with fennel: A good match for the wine’s texture, citrus and herbal character.
• Asparagus and green vegetables: Its acidity and restrained herbal notes suit notoriously difficult green vegetable pairings.

Reviews and Accolades

96 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

It’s sauvignon blanc but not as you know it. It’s a cracking offering and easily one of the finest. Nic Peterkin deftly crafts whites with texture, mouthfeel and plenty of personality. This merely hints at the variety, such is its restraint; just a whisper of the tropics, focusing more on citrus with pomelo, grapefruit and lemon with a dash of lime. It smells of the ocean in the early morning. It’s savoury, textural, yet full of energy, with fine acidity teasing out the palate. It has length, line and definition. Most of all, it is delicious. Drinkability writ large? Absolutely.

Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2026

The 2025 SBDB was selected for Halliday Wine Companion’s Top 100 Wines of 2026, placing it among the most highly regarded Australian releases of the year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SBDB a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend?

No. SBDB is a Sauvignon Blanc wine.

The word “blend” refers to the different winemaking components fermented in amphora and large-format oak, rather than the blending of Sauvignon Blanc with Semillon.

What does SBDB taste like?

Expect lemon, lime, pink grapefruit and restrained passionfruit with pronounced sea-salt minerality.

The wine is savoury and textural, with bright acidity, gentle chalky grip and a long briny finish.

Does it taste like normal Sauvignon Blanc?

Not really.

It is far less overtly grassy or tropical than many conventional Sauvignon Blancs. The focus is on citrus, minerality, texture, savoury complexity and vineyard character.

Is this a natural wine?

It is made using minimal-intervention methods from a certified organic and biodynamic vineyard.

The wine underwent natural stages of malolactic fermentation and received sulphur shortly before blending. It is best described as carefully made minimal-intervention wine rather than completely additive-free wine.

What does unpruned mean?

Most vineyards are pruned each year to control the number and position of shoots that grow during the following season.

The SBDB vines were left unpruned in 2025 and allowed to grow in a much freer form. Combined with the absence of trellising, this created an unusually wild vineyard environment.

Why was the yield so low?

The unpruned vines produced only around one tonne of fruit per hectare.

This is an exceptionally small crop and contributed to the concentration and intensity found in the finished wine.

Does amphora make it taste earthy?

Not necessarily. Clay amphora does not add a strong flavour in the way new oak can.

Its main contribution is texture, integration and a gentle savoury character while allowing the citrus and mineral qualities to remain clear.

Should I serve it very cold?

No. Serve it at approximately 10 to 12°C.

If it is too cold, the wine’s texture and savoury complexity will be hidden.

Can I cellar it?

Yes. It is already delicious, but its concentration, acidity and structure should support medium-term cellaring.

Stored correctly, it should continue developing through approximately 2032.

Why does it cost more than most Sauvignon Blanc?

The wine comes from an extremely low-yielding, certified organic and biodynamic vineyard.

Every bunch was handpicked and hand-sorted, with different parcels receiving whole-bunch pressing, skin contact, amphora fermentation and large-format oak fermentation.

Its tiny yield, labour-intensive production and two 96-point reviews place it in a very different category from high-volume Sauvignon Blanc.