Category Archives: White Wine – New Zealand

Kelly Washington, Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Marlborough, New Zealand

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Kelly Washington have produced this organic Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough, New Zealand and its very good, nee excellent. Decanter gave it 92 points which is spot on, its a fresh youthful looking pale lemon in colour with plenty of sparkle. There are aromas of flint, lime, honey and a bit of smokiness in there, subtle. its not your typical sauvignon blanc from New Zealand but more french. You get flavours of gooseberry but the citrus notes and mineral freshness are what you pick up on more and its delightful.

We went to the Smokehouse in Maldon, Essex as their food is amazing and they allow BYO so the £20 a bottle retail made it worth the money, sure its not cheap but its worth it.

Kelly Washington, Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Marlborough, New Zealand

Kelly Washington, Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Marlborough, New Zealand

 

St Clair, Estate Selection, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand

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St Clair, Estate Selection is a Sauvignon Blanc to rival the Cloudy Bay and Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc’s, not so much for the sheer quality but for the sheer value. This is a great wine wine, nipping at the heals of the other but at a £11 a bottle, the others are double or 50% more respectively.

The aromas are grassy notes with gooseberry coming through but the tastes change that. You get ripe pineapple, followed through with gooseberry and then a bit of lime and grass poking through. Its reasonably dry but the full fruit flavours hide the dryness and the acidity. The secret is to allow the wine to warm up a little to release the flavours.

This got a bronze medal at the Internal Wine Challenage which is a little stingy, silver medal in my humble opinion evey time.

St Clair, Estate Selection, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand

    St Clair, Estate Selection, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand

Lansdowne Estate, Pinot Gris 2014, Wairarapa, New Zealand

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New Zealand already has a great reputation for good Sauvignon Blanc and excellent Pinot Noir. I recently tasted one of the finest Pinot Gris, it was Oastbrook vineyard in the UK. This one from Wairarapa in the North Island of New Zealand under pins my belief that cool climate Pinot Gris can be amazing. This got a well deserved silver medal at the IWSC awards.

There are aromas and flavours of lemon, pear, vanilla and honey. Its a rich golden yellow colour and rich in flavour. The length is a little short but it’s a small complaint. For the most part the intense flavour is wonderful, have it with cheese and just enjoy. There are no doubt better ones out there but I did like this very much. At about £14 a bottle its fair value.
Lansdowne Estate, Pinot Gris 2014, Wairarapa, New Zealand

Lansdowne Estate, Pinot Gris 2014, Wairarapa, New Zealand

 

Saint Clair, Winemaker’s Blend Chardonnay 2016 from Marlborough, New Zealand

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This comes from Waitrose and and I must say they’ve I’ve got quite a winner with this wine. There are aromas of melon and wiffs of citrus, the flavours of melon, citrus with hints vanilla and oak and a background creaminess.

This is a really good example of a dry Chardonnay from New Zealand and at £14 a bottle it’s not bad value. At the moment they have it down to £11 which which makes it excellent.

Saint Clair, Winemaker's Blend Chardonnay 2016 from Marlborough, New Zealand

Saint Clair, Winemaker’s Blend Chardonnay 2016 from Marlborough, New Zealand

Sticky – New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc desert wine

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I am a fan of desert wines, sip on their own or have with, well desert, they give that warm, sweet happy feeling. I accept that those feelings could be caused by all the other alcohol drunk earlier in the evening.

Thereare a few excellent desert wines coming from Australia and New Zealand, the Ned, D’arenberg and De Bortoli, who produced a Decanter gold medal winner under the Tesco Finest label a few years ago.

This Sauvignon Blanc from Waihopai Valley is similar to D’arenberg’s Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay. The grapes have been allowed to hang on the vine for longer allowing them to really ripen and suffer from Botrytis for extra sweetness. There are aromas and flavours of honey, citrus and apricot. The acidity is high but is wonderfully balanced, never drink too much, just sip and enjoy. At £16 for 500ml its very good value.

Sticky - New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc desert wine

Sticky – New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc desert wine

Lawson Dry Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand

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Lawson Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc was a favourite of ours at one stage. It was one of the the better New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs but like many times we got distracted by the next wine and forgot it. The reserve is even better with aromas and flavours of citrus, ripe apple, peach and gooseberry. It has the usual high acidity but its subtle for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, more french style but with more lemon notes. Normally you would pair this with sea food but it went very well with a  vegetable stir-fry. At £15 a bottle it’s in the Greywacke price band but I think it holds its own against that iconic wine.

Lawson Dry Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand

Lawson Dry Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand

Lawson Dry Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc and vegetable stir-fry

Lawson Dry Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc and vegetable stir-fry