New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Redux

All the wines tasted here are from Marlborough on the South Island of New Zealand which is practically synonymous with the best examples of New World Sauvignon Blanc.

2006 Sauvignon Blanc – Spy Valley
Initially there is a hint of melon which quickly gives way to potent passion fruit/ruby red grapefruit (leaning more towards passion fruit). There is also an interesting faint cumin and thyme herbaceous note which is almost sweaty, but in a good way. Zingy lime/lemon finish up with lingering grapefruit and lightly mineral backnotes. Decent value. Wine Spectator gave it a 90. $17.95 91

2005 Sauvignon Blanc – Babich
Light mineral and green apple and tangy gooseberry on the nose with faint green tomato. The nose is restrained and the wine seems to be missing some zip; perhaps this wine is past its optimum drinking window. Candied lime and herbaceous finish, but little grapefruit/passion fruit that is typical of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Probably should have been drunk a year ago. Wine Spectator gave it a 90. $16.15 88

2006 Sauvignon Blanc – Kim Crawford
Pungent gooseberry, green peas, with a well defined herbaceousness (oregano) and a nice whiff of peach wake up the nose. There is strong passion fruit and a little bitter grapefruit toward the finish but it is well balanced by the crisp green elements. Good weight (from time on the lees I’m guessing) and a balance of sweetness and tartness. No real faults, it is quite well rounded. 92 from Wine Spectator, I agree. $19.95 92

2006 Sauvignon Blanc – Saint Clair
Strong lime, gooseberry and passion fruit with a clean mineral backbone. The mid-palate has some sweetness but it finishes on a bitter lime/grapefruit note that lingers. A green pea note comes out with some time warming up in the glass. Not as complex as the Crawford or Spy Valley but still a solid example of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. $18.95 90

The differences between these wines are actually not that great; they were consistently well made and shared similar profiles with minor variations. All had some of that passion fruit and grapefruit trait to some extent as well as green gooseberry and herbaceous notes. The differences in intensity of certain elements and their balance along with unique faint tones (e.g. of peach, melon, and cumin) were all that separated them. Although I really enjoy a good NZ Sauvignon Blanc I found this similarity became a little monotonous when I had them several days in a row.

2006 Year End Wines

Over the 2006 Christmas season I had a few nice wines which I’ll share in this post. Nothing too over the top here, just tasty decently priced wines.

2004 'Bushvine' Grenache – Yalumba
At first I get lovely aromas of strawberry and a little raspberry with some spicy elements of vanilla bean and cloves. Nice firm tannins and a long finish with a touch of chocolate. After some time in the glass the spicy accents come out more, as well as some gamey/bacon hints. 91 from Wine Spectator. A sturdy wine for hearty meals. $19.95 90

2005 Pinot Gris – Grove Mill
This was a little riper than I would have liked, but still quite expressive. Some pear/melon that you might expect, but tropical aromas of passion fruit and ripe peach dominate the nose. There is a little spice and acid to balance it somewhat. Some people enjoyed this, but it wasn’t my preference. $19.95 87

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Raymond
Very well executed; great balance! Very ripe plum and black cherries, caramel and a hint of pepper from the barrel toasting. It reminds me of Black Forest cake. Very fine polished tannins add to the gulpability of this wine. It could stand up to Cabs that are more expensive; I would go as far as to say the 2003 Ornellaia which retails at $139.95 isn’t that much better. It was rated 90 by Wine Enthusiast, which I think is rather conservative. $31.95 92

2005 Sauvignon Blanc – Dog Point
It is very crisp and zippy with gooseberry, passion fruit, and a little orange note in there too. Exactly what you’d expect from a good NZ Sauv. Passion fruit dominates the palate with the excellent acidity begging for some food. I agree with the Wine Spectator rating of 91. $19.95 91

2003 ‘Cosecha’ Crianza – Condado de Haza
This tasty wine comes from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. It has a distinctly Spanish Old World character to it with a medicinal slightly cherry, sour plum, and cedar/sandalwood profile. Rugged tannins with woody chocolate accents add depth. International Wine Cellar gives it a 90, which is fair but the description makes it sound like something it’s not (at least to me). $24.95 89+

2004 Gewürztraminer Reserve – Pelee Island Winery
This Gewürz is clean with good weight, and a little mineral with rose petal and lychee nut on the nose. The lychee is more like longan (a fruit related to lychee) in taste with Turkish Delight candy. A good example of this varietal in Ontario. $14.95 89

2002 Cahors – Château de Haute-Serre
Rich nose of ripe red fruit, vanilla, chocolate and a hint of cedar. A very gulpable Malbec in an almost more New World style. approx. $18 89

2002 Saint-Emillion – Christian Moueix
Lighter in body than I was expecting, with sour cherry, plum, slight mineral, and a nice bay leaf accent. Healthy tannins and finish, but definitely not in the same style as the Cahors above. 4/5 from Wine Access. $11.45 for 375mL 88

Vintages - May 27, 2006 Release

This release featured wines from New Zealand. Of course there were the obligatory Sauvignon Blancs, of which there were quite a few good ones, and Pinot Noirs which are rightfully starting to get as much notice as Sauvignon Blanc. For me the price to quality ratio made me reluctant to indulge in any of the Pinot Noir, but I did seems to gather from The Star (as I’m sure many others have) and other sources that the 2004 Wither Hills Pinot Noir was a top pick (93 from Stimmell) – at $45.95 is not bad value, but for me a lower priority on a limited budget. Instead my hard earned bucks went to the 2005 Drylands Sauvignon Blanc (which I reviewed in the previous post E-VG for $18.95) and 2005 Seresin Sauvignon Blanc.

I also picked out a few good values from the release which I will review now:

2004 ‘Dogajolo’ – Carpineto
Well this is actually more a word of caution than a review. This Tuscan seemed like an amazing value at $19.95 and 5/5 Stars from The Sydney Morning Herald so I got 2 bottles. Unfortunately both were spoiled smelling like fermenting beans and cork. Considering I bought them randomly from two different stores this does not seem like very good odds. I’m sure it would be great if not corked to hell, but there seems like a good chance that spoiled bottles are far from uncommon. No Rating

2003 ‘Lizard Flat’ Shiraz – Heath Wines
I was thinking of getting the Cab-Merlot but after talking to the staff at the LCBO who had tried both I decided on the Shiraz. I’m glad I did. Bottled under a screwcap (I haven’t had a spoiled screwcap wine yet) this wine delivers great value for the money. New oak lends some vanilla notes with plum, black fruit, and interesting spice nuances (fennel and black pepper) with a lengthy finish. $11.95 VG

I will be adding reviews for the 2005 Seresin Sauvignon Blanc and the Spanish red 2003 ‘Altos de Luzon’ to this post once I get to drinking them, soon I hope.

Alright here they are:

2005 Sauvignon Blanc – Seresin
This wine from Marlborough is good in its own right but not what I typically expect from a NZ Sauvignon Blanc, which is why I prefer the Drylands. I’m not noticing much passion fruit or any other tropical fruit (though some might disagree); instead I notice more temperate fruits like pear and Golden Delicious apple. There is also a tinge of oak (10% barrel fermented) which smoothes out some of the zing I like but does give it a nice mouthfeel. Also unusual is the addition of 3% Semillion. What is typical is the healthy dollop of gooseberry character. The zip does increase with exposure to air as the oak component mellows. $19.95 E-VG

2003 ‘Altos de Luzón’ – Bodegas Luzón
This ripe and rich wine comes from the Jumilla region of Spain. I noticed vanilla (from the oak) in its bouquet and aromas of ripe cherry and blackberry with definite cedar and tobacco all melded together nicely. Ample and firm tannins suggest this wine will age well for a few years, but it’s great now. Maybe some faint almond and mint in there too. Definitely some Old World wine character in it, great! 93 from Wine Spectator $22.95 E-VG

2005 Sauvignon Blanc - Drylands

This wine is a perfect example of why I’ve become so fond of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Tropical fruits (passion fruit mostly and some guava) with tomato stem accents. It is fresh and zingy with more gooseberry and marjoram on the palate. The label says it was allowed to rest for 3 months on the lees to improve the complexity and mouthfeel and I would have to agree; mouth-filling body with a nice finish, well rounded off, you can smell and taste the contact with the lees a bit. It has scored between 90-91 with various critics. $18.95 E-VG

More reviews are in the works, I just haven’t had much time to finish and post them yet. Future topics include Portuguese wine, Fairview of South Africa, and a few wines from recent Vintages (LCBO) releases.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favourite varietals and New Zealand, in particular, has some spectacular examples.

I’ve found the flavor and aroma profile of Sauvignon Blanc varies quite predictably with where it’s grown. Cool climate Sauvignon Blanc tends to have more pronounced green or herbaceous elements (grassy, tomato stem, thyme, bell pepper, and gooseberry); warmer climate Sauvignon Blanc will have more tropical fruit elements (passion fruit being quite common as well as pineapple, stone fruits, and honeydew melon). Sometimes you will detect some citrusy notes too (lime, grapefruit) or even what some people refer to as cat urine or litter box! This sharp cat urine odour occurs when the grapes are harvested when underripe due to a poor growing season and/or not enough sun exposure (it can be okay in small amounts though, honest).

The great thing is all of these elements can be found in Sauvignon Blanc that comes from NZ; they often have a bit of cool and warm climate character.


2003 ‘Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush’ – Coopers Creek
This wine has a cheeky cat on its label and at first I thought this wine might just be cleaver marketing, but it’s really not bad. There are some gooseberry aromas and an acidic note that could be considered cat pee (but not to my nose). It’s fruity too; some apricot, but I found the acidity a bit ‘rough’. Other wise a nice zingy wine at a decent price ($12.50).
VG-G

While in NZ I had the opportunity to visit Kim Crawford on the North Island (I may post a picture at a later date):

2004 Sauvignon Blanc – Kim Crawford
I was told this is slightly different from the wine that makes it to North America. It is young and full of tropical fruit (banana and passion fruit) with a clean sharp finish and some gooseberry and marjoram. Quite a complex nose, but I found it needed a bit of air time to smooth it out. ($13.85 NZ)
VG

While in NZ I also bought a few bottles to drink there and take home with me:

2004 Sauvignon Blanc (Hawks Bay) – Matua Valley
Slightly floral nose with citrus and tapioca. Mandarin peel, thyme, green apple. It has a better acid/sugar balance than the Kim Crawford above and a similar price ($13.95 NZ).
VG

2004 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Cloudy Bay
This winery has a lot to do with why NZ is known for its Sauvignon Blanc. Cloudy Bay’s Sauvignon Blanc is widely regarded as NZ’s finest and has something of a cult following. This vintage was no different receiving 91+ ratings all around. The nose is amazing: kiwi and passion fruit with light lime, gooseberry, and bell pepper notes. It’s polished and vibrant with crisp acidity, very bright and alive. The tomato stem/gooseberry aspect is quite pronounced in this wine, you cannot mistake the grape here. Wow. A wine for summer lunches on the patio. (This wine goes for over $30 in Ontario, but I got it for around $20 NZ)
E-VG

More recently and my Best Buy pick:

2005 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Kim Crawford
A little less zingy than the 2004 I tried in NZ, but it still has healthy acidity. Clean mineral gooseberry (if that makes sense), but not too herbaceous (marjoram and sweet grass). Fruit is more dominant with passion fruit hints and stone fruit aromas which also linger in the finish. Much better than the 2004 I had, and just a notch under the Cloudy Bay; at $19.95 CDN it’s a good deal for this level of quality. 90 from Wine Spectator.
VG-E

Other good Sauvignon Blanc producers to look for: Forrest Estate, Villa Maria, Oyster Bay Vineyards, Thornbury, St. Clair.