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
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
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 and vegetable stir-fry