Babich, Sauvignon Blanc, 2021, New Zealand
Another New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, can it get any more boring? Thus is a rather good one, dry, reasonably light, refreshing with decent flavours and aromas. Lime, citrus, pineapple, hints of gooseberry and green apple. At £14 a bottle it should be decent and it delivers.
Eradus, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is pretty much in gained into British wine drinking society now and for good reason which this one from Eradus shows. Tropical flavours of pineapple, lemon, grapefruit and peach with a little green apple and gooseberry all nicely tied together. It’s dry, crisp and perfect for summer.
At £15 a bottle it’s possibly a little over priced but it’s a good solid Sauvignon Blanc.
Marisco, Pride and Glory, Sauvignon Blanc, 2015, New Zealand
This is the first Sauvignon Blanc from Marisco that I have tried and and the name is quite correct, they can certainly claim pride and glory in what they produced.
You get tropical notes with a bit of gooseberry a little butter and vanilla on the nose and flavours that are subtle reasonably complex but well integrated hint of oak finishes this off and it’s certainly an excellent wine it’s just a shame at £35 a bottle it’s out of reach of most people. The one that is equally as good and half the price that should be tried is the Greywacke standard range Sauvignon Blanc.
Nederburg, Sauvignon Blanc, Auction Reserve, 2015, South Africa
Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa is generally good, more french than New Zealand but this Auction Reserve from Nederburg is superb. Suble aromas of lemon, pineapple and hints of gooseberry and minerality and added flavours that include lime and peach.
There’s lots here but all in harmony and working together. Excellent, truly excellent.
O:TU, Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, love it or hate it, its a Marmite wine. This one from O:TU is very good, not outstanding but theres lots to like about it.
Its a dry, acidic white with decent body and length of flavour. There are aromas and flavours of lemon, lime, grapefruit and gooseberry with a little green apple and hints of ripe melon.
Its no Greywacke but its a decent wine.
There are 2 types of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, cheap and expensive and this one from Framingham is the later. At £15 a bottle its not Greywacke Wild Sauvignon price but a lot of people will see this at twice the price of what they would expect when they taste it. At £15 you are into the standard Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc which is far superior.
There are aromas of grapefruit and gooseberry which are joined by flavours of lemon and hints of green apple. Its all a bit harsh and acid based rather than elegant. Its more like a £6.99 bottle from Tesco. Its not terrible but get a bottle of Greywacke and see the light.
Framingham, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, New Zealand
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
If all Hungarian Sauvignon Blanc was as great as this Aranymetszés Friss from Varga Pincészet I may never drink any other wine. Well not quite but this is AMAZING. Its a great easy drinking, medium style white wine with a lot of fresh peach, melon, lime, lemon and elderflower aromas and tastes with a bit of a sparkle in there. When its hot outside this is perfect. A bronze medal winner at the IWSC (a little stingy) the issue is getting it in the UK. There are better Sauvignon Blancs out there but this is a wine of a moment, a warm summers day, doing nothing.
Varga Pincészet, Aranymetszés Friss, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Hungary
Sumac Estate is east of Vancouver in British Columbia an area that does some excellent wine. This won’t let the side down but don’t expect trophy winning wine.
Aromas of green apple and a hint of lime are followed through with tastes of grass, lemon, stone fruit and a slight creaminess on the finish. Its light and crisp with high acidity and perfectly paired with shell fish. A little grassy and acidic for me but I can appreciate the work thats gone into making this wine. A bronze medal winner at the IWSC its a very good wine.
Sumac Ridge Estate, Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, British Columbia, Canada
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.
