Tag Archives: Sauvignon Blanc

Varga Pincészet, Aranymetszés Friss, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Hungary

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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

Varga Pincészet, Aranymetszés Friss, Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, Hungary

Sumac Ridge Estate, Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, British Columbia, Canada

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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

Sumac Ridge Estate, Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, British Columbia, Canada

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

Klein Street, Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

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New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is easy to spot, loads of gooseberry and in your face.

French Sauvignon Blanc is more subtle and this is where this one from South Africa sits. There’s citrus notes with hints of gooseberry on the nose. When you taste it there’s flavours of green apple, citrus, floral hints and a crispness. The acidity is high and there is a cleanliness on the finish that makes this pretty good. The finish is a little short which is a shame.

I liked this wine and at about £7 a bottle its good value. For the summer this will be a great BBQ wine, open, pour and drink.

Klein Street, Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

Klein Street, Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa more

 

 

Tenute Cadorin Le Favole, Vigneti Castello Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Italy

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Aromas of grass, grapefruit and citrus, although the citrus is more a hint. This medium colour but slightly heavier than you expect from a french Sauvignon Blanc.

I want to say this is acidic but the dribble taste says no. The grapefruit is quite domineering, theres tropical fruit flavours and hints of apple in there but it all makes for a harsh wine. This got a bronze at the Decanter International Wine Awards with 88 points but I can’t see why, sorry but I would expect far more balanced fruit flavours for a wine that got a medal.

At about £10 a bottle there’s better out there. Not one I’ll try again.

Tenute Cadorin Le Favole, Vigneti Castello Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Italy

Tenute Cadorin Le Favole, Vigneti Castello Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Italy

 

Yellowwood Mountain, reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

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Aromas and flavours of citrus with tropical notes and no gooseberry notes. There’s minerality and freshness and this got a silver medal from the IWSC. It’s nice but I’m not sure it’s a Silver medal, then again at £5 a bottle this might be the wine if the year if you want an easy drinking white wine.

Yellowwood Mountain, reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

Yellowwood Mountain, reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Africa

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