Although one might have guessed it from the sheer number of New Zealand sauvignon blancs on supermarket shelves, it’s still a shock to discover that the variety accounts for a staggering 85% of all the country’s wine exports, most of it from Marlborough. I’ve said before that Kiwi sauvignon blanc doesn’t rock my boat, and a recent visit to New Zealand didn’t change my mind. There’s too much crudely made, overcropped, formulaic wine there. If you feel the same, avoid bottles under £7, under 12.5% abv, bottled in bulk (the clue is a code such as “W1740 at DH9 7XP” on the back label) or whose producers don’t have a website.
But that isn’t the whole story. Marlborough does have a great climate for sauvignon blanc, and there are several top-notch examples from winemakers who add finesse and complexity with wild yeasts and oak ageing. Dog Point and Greywacke are two I’ve recommended before – and it’s good to find the latter’s 2013 Wild Sauvignon (14% abv) now available in-half bottles at £13.50 from oldbridgewine.co.uk. Or, if you like the more classic Marlborough style, Wairau River does a good job. Its Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (13.5% abv) is £9.99 from The Wine Reserve.
The irony is that whether or not they’re in Marlborough, practically every Kiwi wine producer has to make a savvy, even though they don’t typically have that pungent, gooseberry and asparagus flavour. Hawkes Bay-based Sileni blends up to 14% of local fruit into its well-priced Marlborough Cellar Selection 2013 (12.5% abv), which gives it a fuller, more rounded, less aggressive character. It’s good value, too, at £7.95 from ND John of Swansea (go to wine-searcher.com for other stockists). And in Martinborough, an area better known for its pinots, I came across the lovely, citrussy Ata Rangi Sauvignon (13% abv), which restores your faith in the variety: “We make a wine we like to drink,” winemaker Helen Masters says, drily. The 2013 is £13.10 at slurp.co.uk, £13.99 from cellarviewines.com.
If you’re resolutely savvy-phobic, look out instead for New Zealand’s delicious aromatic whites, especially riesling and pinot gris, or blends of the two, such as biodynamic producer Te Whare Ra’s totally delicious Toru (£19.99 North And South Wines; 13.5% abv), which also has a dash of gewürztraminer. The best come from the South Island, particularly Waipara (look out for Pegasus), Central Otago and, yes, Marlborough again. I guess they’re hard to sell, though, because a lot of stockists seem stuck with older vintages, which is a shame. They deserve wider exposure, so look out for them by the glass in restaurants.
