Always a herald of spring, new sauvignon blancs are starting to appear now. The 2011s are young and fresh and almost all will benefit from at least another 6 months in bottle. However some of the 2010s are drinking deliciously at present and are well worth seeking out.
Full Circle Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010, $17
Three and a half stars (out of five)
Good value
Packaged in a lightweight, eco-friendly plastic bottle, this is complex and mouth-filling with grassy, mineral, savoury undertones, and a long, crisp nutty aftertaste. Mature and drinking nicely now.
Three stars
Average value
A sweeter, simple style with hints of peach and passionfruit, a crisp, gooseberry undertone and a lively finish.
Three and a half stars
Average value
A tight young wine that opened with time in the glass, this is mouth-filling, oozing passionfruit, green capsicum and gooseberries with crisp mineral undertones and an intense, zingy finish.
Five stars
Good value
It's hard to beat Saint Clair's sauvignons. This is fragrant with loads of passionfruit, gooseberry and tropical fruit, a mineral undertone and a wonderful, well-balanced, zesty finish.
It shows how delicious archetypal, fresh Marlborough sauvignon blanc can be.
Four stars
Good value
A stylish, fragrant wine just getting into its stride at a year old, with pungent passionfruit and mineral suggesting drops of water on hot river stones, it is intense, textural and mouth-filling with a crisp, bright acidity on the finish.
Three and a half stars
Average value
This wine will benefit from another six months in bottle to allow the lovely ripe fruit and mouth-filling flavours - passionfruit, kiwifruit and mineral - to develop. It's well balanced with a hint of sweetness and a crisp finish.
ANOTHER GLASS
Morton Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $18
Three stars
Below average value
Floral and simple with hints of melon initially, overnight this wine developed suggestions ofsweet passionfruit and an assertive, mouthfilling finish.
12,000 Miles Wairarapa Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $20
Three stars
Below average value
Made by Gladstone in the Wairarapa, this is fresh and taut, with zesty hints of apple, whitepeach and mineral, but may well develop with another six months in the bottle.
Seifried Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $21
Three stars
Below average value
A crisp, herbal wine with hints of crisp apple and dusty mineral, with a zingy, almost masochistic, finish.
Mills Reef Reserve Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $25
Four stars
Average value
Broad, textural and mouth-filling, this hints of passionfruit and kiwifruit with a savoury, mineral undertone. It's young and initially restrained but with its concentration power, complexity, underlying structure and balanced acidity, it will definitely benefit from six months or a year in the bottle.
• Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
