Mid-January. Depending on where you are as you read this, you may be basking in the glow of summer and dreaming of a cool sav blanc, the condensation forming beads as it trickles down the bottle.
Of course, writing this ahead of publication is fraught with the risk that it could actually be cool and bucketing down, with sturdy reds far more in your sights?
I’ll take my chances and plump for the former, as this very interesting and varied collection of sav blancs are quite simply summer in a glass.
2019 Churton
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
sauvignon blanc
Price: $37
Rating: Outstanding
Complex nose of wine
gums, fruit sherbet, sweat,
gunflint, honey, bramble and
lime. Texturally rich,
followed by a rush of
lemony citrus, ripe fruit,
gooseberry, fruit pastille
and lime, pea pod later.
Intensity and depth,
swelling in the glass,
with super texture and a
long, long close. Racy
and refreshing, this is
compelling stuff.
2020 Riverby Estate
Single Vineyard
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $22
Rating: Very good to
excellent
Passionfruit, feijoa, sweat,
moving to capsicum &
gooseberry. A powerful
nose that captures your
attention. Grassy, nettley
palate with ripe
gooseberry and very racy
acidity. A creamy hint on
the close (a little rs
perhaps) that helps to
balance the acidity adding
apple notes and fruit
sweetness. Very typical
Marlborough style.
2019 Mahi
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $24
Rating: Very good to excellent
Very perfumed nose with
fruit pastilles, musk and
tropical fruits, gunflint &
citrus blossom with
aeration. Fruit sweetness
leads the palate,
gooseberry becoming
more evident, the
tropical fruit an
undercurrent with
lemon & lemon zest
notes keeping this
fresh. Supple initially,
becoming more racy
with time it finishes on
tangy, zesty notes.
Creeps up on me.
2020 Black Cottage
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $18
Rating: Very good
Bold nose with capsicum,
cut grass, fruit sherbet and a
wisp of sweat. Noticeable
fruit sweetness with
candied fruit nuances, yet
enough zesty acidity to
keep this interesting.
Develops more raciness
and punchy acidity as it
opens up, highlighting
gooseberry on the close.
Supple, nicely balanced
and a real crowd-
pleasing style.
2019 Loveblock tee
No Sulphur Added
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $26.99
Rating: Excellent
Fascinatingly different nose,
with florality, geranium,
feijoa and pea-pod. Rich and
supple entry before a raft of
acidity charges in with
notes of chamomile,
smoke, citrus and apple
cider. Totally outside the
realm of your ‘typical’
Savvie, this is ‘Sav
Blanc, but not as we
know it Jim’! Textural,
complex and utterly
delightful in its point of
difference.
2020 Giesen
Uncharted
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $19.99
Rating: Very good to
excellent
Sweetly fruited perfume,
nettles, evolving to dried
herbs and a fleeting sweat
note. Fresh & bright, nice
balance and integration
here with the gooseberry
and nettle notes joined
by a touch of mandarin.
A pretty classic
Marlborough style, the
acidity refreshing yet
not shrill, and all about
sheer drinkability.
2020 The Vegan Wine
Project
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $18-$19
Rating: Excellent to
outstanding
Sweat, gooseberry and cut
grass, adding a little smoky
nuance. Supple and
rounded, sweetly fruited
front palate flooded with
ripe gooseberry, a hint of
fruit pithy chalkiness
adding interest to the
texture. This has flavour
depth without
heaviness, neatly
balanced acidity and
really ticks the box on
refreshment. This has
summer drinking written
all over it.
2020 Saint Clair
Pioneer Block 3
Dillon’s Point
Marlborough
sauvignon blanc
Price: $28.90
Rating: Excellent
Dried herbs, smoke, shifting
to ripe apple, fruit jube &
musk, grassy with time.
Quite a racy front palate
lending a real lip-
smacking quality to this.
Interesting contrast of
flavours on the palate
mixing green herbs,
apple, fruit jube and
citrus, developing a
sweet ‘n’ sour nuance
that works really well
along with the crunchy
close. A tasty little wine.
