Well-made sauvignon blanc can be delicious, overflowing with fruit, zesty, fresh, mouth-filling and crisp but not assertive. Those with more assertive acidity are usually best with food which balances the sharpness.
BEST VALUE
$25
Four and a half stars (out of five)
Good value
A zingy wine overflowing with generous fruit (gooseberries, passionfruit, citrus) a hint of mineral, a lively intensity, good balance and crisp acidity on the finish.
$20
Three and a half stars
Average value
A lively wine with bright, mouth-filling fruit - green and gold kiwi, passionfruit and lemon, suggestions of river stones, intense and crisp, with a shaft of steely acidity on the finish.
$25
Three and a half stars
Below average value
When I first tasted this young barrel-fermented wine I though of dark chocolate along with lime and mineral. However, the oak settled and integrated revealing green crisp fruits - gooseberry and melon, a hint of nuts and caramel and a crisp lively long finish. Give it time to integrate.
$26
Four stars
Average value
Fresh and mouth-filling with stonefruit and passionfruit, textural and intense with a long, steely shaft of acidity on the finish. It calls for food - cheese, slow-cooked pork belly or a rich risotto. A classy sauvignon that will develop with a year or two's bottle age.
$32
Three and a half stars
Below average value
Hints of stonefruit, kiwi, melon and dusty gravel with an underlying nuttiness and a suggestion of smoky oak, this is youthful and restrained but nicely mouth-filling and generous with a crisp, dry finish.
$12
Three and a half stars
Good value
Produced for the Asian market, this is an attractive wine, floral, with hints of gooseberries and passionfruit, rich and intense in the mouth tempered by the lively acidity and fresh, zingy finish. Good value if you can find it as most is exported.
