Advantages: Excellent wine for good price Disadvantages: addictive!
Being a kiwi it is natural that I drink plenty of New Zealand wine and indeed I do, too much perhaps! This wine comes from the Malborough region of New Zealand, which lies at the top of the South Island at a lattitude equivalent to about mid Spain. It is a relatively dry area, with good (2400hrs per annum) sunshine hours. Summer day temperatures would average about 23degC with winter days being around 12-15 degC, frosts are rare and not severe. Ideal for the Sauvignonblanc grape then.
This grape is said to grow best in cool climates, and compared to the searing heat that continental regions such as France and the US get in the summer, Malborough is "cool".
The Montana name originated in 1934 when a Yugoslavian immigrant planted a grape vine near some mountains near Auckland NZ (montana meaning mountain). Thirty years later his two ...
Advantages: Refreshing, good aperitif, well balanced Disadvantages: Only at M&S
Yes, Chilean SauvignonBlanc strikes successfully home on my palate yet again. Not surprising as Chile really seems to be hitting the mark so often these days with this type of wine. The good example in question was Secano Estate SauvignonBlanc, vintage 2006, available at Marks and Spencer for £6.99 (sometimes it is discounted !). Like its Pinot Noir sister it is from the Leyda Valley in Chile made by Vina Leyda for M&S. The cool climate nature of the Leyda Valley apparently allows the production of fresh and elegant SauvignonBlanc. Well, let?s see !
Settling in last night in front of a DVD I uncorked this little number (no screwcaps yet for Vina Leyda) and while the previews ran tasted it at leisure. It was a clear and delicate, pale lemon colour, typical for a young and fresh SauvignonBlanc. The aromas from the wine were quite ...
Advantages: Lowish alcohol level, pleasant tropical fruit flavours, good at half price Disadvantages: Expensive at full price, only found at Tesco
Tesco often heavily discount their range of 'Finest' wines in order to lure us into a purchase and I was no exception to this when I spotted Tesco Finest Tapiwey SauvignonBlanc some time ago reduced from £7.99 to £3.99. This is a Chilean white wine from the Casablanca Valley which is a cooler wine producing area gaining a good reputation for producing quality SauvignonBlanc (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well).
The wine has a screwcap closure which is very handy for times when the corkscrew has gone missing and this of course eliminates the possibility of the wine being spoiled by cork taint.
Aroma wise this wine had zesty, crisp aromas of gooseberry which is typical for a SauvignonBlanc with a pleasant dash of tropical fruit. Upon supping I picked up a light to medium body which was initially crisp and lively before subsiding ...
