It never ceases to amaze me how varied sauvignon blanc can be, from restrained, minerally styles to off-dry fruit bombs, from full-on, pungent, assertive wines, to smoky, textural ones made complex by barrel fermentation.
Richmond Plains Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2009.
$20
With ripe fruit and herbs restrained by a mineral undertone hinting of greywacke river stones, this wine finishes with a crisp tingle.
- 3 stars (out of 5)
- Good Value
Distant Land Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2009.
(about $18)
Here's a fruit bomb, oozing sweet lime, passionfruit, zesty nectarine, golden kiwifruit, and tropical fruits. Slightly sweet with a clean finish.
- 5 stars (out of 5)
- Good Value
(about $21)
Everything you look for in archetypal Marlborough sauvignon blanc: pungent aromas, green fruits - kiwi, gooseberry, fresh guavas - a hint of fresh sweat, zesty, assertive mouth-filling flavours that make you sit up and take notice, and a very long aftertaste.
One of the best from this producer's 15 vintages.
- 3 stars (out of 5)
- Average Value
(about $21)
Fragrant, with zesty aromas and flavours that shout Marlborough sauvignon from the first whiff of tropical fruit and passionfruit, a lively wine with a crisp finish.
Attractive and easy.
- 3 stars (out of 5)
- Average Value
(about $27)
Restrained for a sauvignon blanc, this year-old wine is rich and textural with layers of flavour, a balanced intensity and a long finish.
A sauvignon to think about, if that's not an oxymoron.
- 4 stars (out of 5)
- Average Value
(about $35)
A complex barrel-fermented wine with smoky, funky undertones, hints of oatmeal, green herbs and mineral, mouth-filling with a crisp, long finish.
Excellent with Whitestone goats' cheese.
- 4 stars (out of 5)
- Average Value
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.
- 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
