Goats Cheese Soufflé
Barrel Fermented
Sauvignon Blanc
The August 1888 is a tribute to the Giesen brothers’ grandfather August (Aw-goost), a sommelier and restaurateur. Like it's namesake, this wine pushes boundaries.
We start in the vineyard with meticulous hands on practice dropping fruit, hand pruning and hand picking. Care continues with winemaking that includes wild fermentation and integrated oak regimes.
This attention to detail crafts a Sauvignon Blanc unlike any other; character-filled and complex, one that rewards cellaring.
Fruit from two iconic Giesen vineyards make up the The August 1888. Matthews Lane grapes add rich ripe tropical notes, steely, wet pebble aromas and purity. The organically managed and certified Dillons Point vineyard adds herbal notes, richness and structure.
In totality this creates a Sauvignon Blanc with a tropical nose featuring passionfruit and lime leaves. Its multi-dimensional and layered with toasty almonds, fresh brioche and incredible flinty notes. Well-integrated oak provides complexity and elegance.
Opening this Sauvignon Blanc makes every occasion special.
Please note, this wine is now known as The August.
The August
August Giesen's outrageous legacy is inextricably tied to the Giesen story. So producing a wine elevated to its richest expression, with meticulous care from our winemakers, seemed a fitting tribute to a legend.
Vineyard
Wairau Valley - Dillon's Point Road & Matthews Lane
Winemaking
After hand picking, the fruit is whole bunch pressed to enhance flavour and retain acidity and purity.
80% of the free run juice is put in tanks before gravity filling second and third use 1000L German oak Fuder barrels with the remainder going to older French oak barriques.
Fermentation is left to happen naturally with wild yeasts to add extra texture and build depth and length.
The August 1888 is blended from barrel, lightly filtered before bottling a few months later and further matures in bottle.
It will continue to reward cellaring for another 10 years.
Awards
2014
2013
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
Dillons Point Vineyard
Lower Wairau Valley
The backbone of Giesen’s premium Sauvignon Blanc programme, Dillon’s Point was the Giesen brothers’ first Marlborough vineyard purchase. Maritime influence, intensely concentrated fruit characters, mineral intensity from the heavy soils, and hand-picked premium quality fruit make this vineyard special. Read more
Nikolai St George
Chief Winemaker 2016 - 2020
Nikolai St George lead Giesen’s winemaking team from 2016 - 2020 ensuring they created a collection of wines for wine lovers across the world to enjoy. He was awarded his fourth ‘Winemaker of the Year’ title during his fourth vintage with Giesen. Read more
The Legend
Learn more about the li...
With his sense of fun, smart suits, love of steak tartare and passion for Mosel (the dry German Riesling that was his favourite wine), August Giesen was a legend. His story begins in 1888, when a boy named August...
Read moreUpstaging the Kaiser
It takes a lot to upstage a German Emperor, but fledgling entrepreneur and good-natured chancer August (Aw-goost) Giesen did just that the day he missed his train to a dinner engagement where he was due to work. Always one...
Read moreNYC Adventures
Read about August Giese...
The year was 1909. The place was America, land of freedom and opportunity. The man was August (Aw-goost) Giesen – determined to start a new life in the new world. Always one to push the boundaries, August believed New...
Read moreIn the Blood
Giesen's Love of Food...
If you were to give Theo, Alex and Marcel Giesen a health check, the likelihood is that you would find wine running through their veins and food embedded in their DNA. The link begins with the brothers’ grandfather August...
Read moreReviews
"2014 Vintage: Lovely developed characters marked by zesty grapefruit perfume and nutty smoke with integrated oak. Very textural with intense fruits of pineapple, grapefruit and ripe melon. May 2018"
95
International Wine Challenge 2018
"2013 Vintage: Another high-end Sauvignon Blanc that sees some oak aging, this is a rich, ripe wine, loaded with nectarine and citrus fruit. The oak framing is barely noticeable, but serves to highlight the silky texture and adds a pleasant grilled note on the long finish. March 2018"
92
Joe Czerwinksi - Wine Enthusiast Magazine
"2013 Vintage: This distinctive wine is named after the Giesen brothers’ grandfather, August (pronounced ‘Ow-goost’) Giesen. Hand-picked and barrel-fermented, it is a commanding, weighty wine (14.5% alc/vol), complex and dry, with highly concentrated tropical-fruit flavours, slightly nutty, tightly structured and long. Maturing very gracefully, it’s currently in full stride. "
Michael Cooper
"2012 Vintage: Fermented in French oak barrels and German oak fuders, this is a superb example of oak-influenced sauvignon blanc. Very fleshy, weighty, complex and rich, it is finely textured, with concentrated, ripe, stonefruit flavours, gently seasoned with smoky oak. Delicious now. Rated highly by all judges. "
Winestate
"2013 Vintage: This distinctive wine is named after the Giesen brothers' grandfather, August (pronounced 'Ow-goost') Giesen. The 2013 vintage («««««) was hand-picked and barrel-fermented with indigenous yeasts. Light yellow/green, it is a commanding, weighty wine (14.5 per cent alcohol), complex and dry, with highly concentrated tropical-fruit flavours, slightly nutty, tight and long. Maturing gracefully, it's a very harmonious wine, likely to be at its best 2017+"
Michael Cooper Buyer's Guide
