Fresh, new season Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc often reminds me of hot, sun-baked river stones splashed with drops of water, and sometimes of the pungent aroma of wild flowering currant bushes (in flower now) as you brush past them.
BEST UNDER $20
$19
Three stars (out of five)
Good value
Wonderfully aromatic - blackcurrant leaves, fresh herbs, gooseberries, with intense fruit salad flavours suggesting ripe apples, white peach and passionfruit, with an underlying hint of mineral and a zesty, crisp finish.
BEST VALUE
$21
Four stars
Good value
Pungent and aromatic, oozing green capsicum, gooseberry, herbs and grass, intense flavours, a suggestion of greywacke and sweat, deliciously rich with an oily texture and lively finish, a typical wonderful, in-your-face Marlborough sauvignon blanc.
$21
Four stars
Good value
Dusty river stones and abundant, fragrant ripe fruit suggesting white peach, gooseberry, capsicum, kiwifruit and passionfruit with a zesty, tingly finish.
$22
Three stars
Average value
A new brand with labels by artist Martin Popplewell, this wine from the Awatere, is zesty and fragrant with suggestions of ripe passionfruit, an underlying minerality and crisp lively finish.
$35
Four stars
Below average value
A complex wine, with hints of melon, smoke and toasted hazelnuts from barrel fermentation, intense and textural with a taut, very dry finish. A stylish, restrained wine.
$50
Five stars
Average value
New Zealand's finest sauvignon in a barrel-aged style, this is powerful and complex, oozing butterscotch, lively melon, creamy hints of nuts and honey, with underlying minerality, a dry finish and a long aftertaste.
ANOTHER GLASS
$28
Four stars
Average value
A crisp, zesty wine, hints of avocado, mouthfilling and textural with a taut, mineral finish. Remarkably restrained even for a barrel-fermented sauvignon.
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations. - charmian.smith@odt.co.nz
Two stars - simple, clean, enjoyable wine; three stars - good wine with varietal characteristics; four stars - very good wine with some outstanding characteristics; five stars - outstanding wine with balance and harmony that leaves you with a sense of wonder.
