With a wealth of excellent 2009 Sauvignon Blancs on the market, most of us
need good guidance to obtain the better releases. Regional Wines have a number of fantastic
value and quality Sauvignon Blancs in the ‘Top 30’ and these are highly
recommended. The 2009 Picton Bay, Mount Riley
and Clayridge are truly outstanding in the price categories, whilst the 2008
Astrolabe and Clos Henri show how well the variety can show after a year or so
in bottle, when made with the highest quality in mind. Recently, we featured the 2009 Greywacke,
Saint Clair ‘Wairau Reserve’, Starborough and Eradus, as outstanding quality
Sauvignon Blancs, ideal to enjoy over the summer months. Recent news has highlighted two 2009
Sauvignon Blancs which we can recommend as exceptional examples, one of which
has already been put forward for your enjoyment:
Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009
This label has been extremely successful over the years, this new release
following the 2008 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc which won ‘Best White Wine’ at the
Shanghai International Wine Challenge and awarded a Blue-Gold Top 100’ at the
Sydney International Wine Competition in the previous year. The 2009 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc has
surpassed its predecessor, winning Champion Wine of the Show at the 2009
Liquorland Top 100 and awarded gold medals at the N.Z. International Wine Show
and again recently at the Air N.Z. Wine Awards.
This is wonderful consistency for this particular vintage, and for the
label, over successive releases.
One quarter of the fruit for the wine was sourced from company vineyards
in the upper Wairau
Valley, the remainder
from growers in the Awatere, Ure and Wairau valleys. It was cool stainless-steel fermented to
13.0% alc and 3.6 g/l rs. Beautifully
soft and integrated, covering the spectrum of riper tropical fruits to cooler
herb and mineral notes, on a seamlessly smooth palate combining richness depth
with refreshing acidity and exceptional line and length. Winemaker Nadine Worley has been joined by
the talented Cath Oates as
Operations Director of the Mud House group, and we can expect to see even
greater things in the future.
Eradus Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
2009
We have raved about Michiel and Hanna Eradus’ Sauvignon Blanc before. From the first vintage in 2006 to 2008, the
Sauvignon Blanc has won 18 gold medals (or gold equivalents) and a trophy. The 2009 has just been judged ‘Best White
Wine Buy of the Year’ by Michael Cooper
in the 2010 edition of his authoritative ‘Winebuyers Guide to New Zealand
Wines’. Michael
Cooper awarded the wine 5 stars, saying “Weighty, rich,
rounded, with sweet fruit characters, notably concentrated gooseberry/lime
flavours hints of tomato stalk and a slightly minerally streak”. After its identity was revealed, Cooper added
“Priced sharply”. This comes on top of 5
stars in ‘Winestate’, Best Value Sauvignon Blanc (a top 5 ranking) in Dish
Magazine and ‘Best Sauvignon Blanc’ in the Cellar Select Tasting, all this
year.
We also see the classic Awatere fruit character of herbs, gooseberries and
minerals. This has wonderful depth,
concentration and cut, and concur with Michael Cooper. The fruit comes from the immaculately managed
‘Breloft’ vineyard in the lower Dashwood region of the Awatere. Cold fermented in stainless-steel to 13.0%
alc. and an imperceptible 3.5 g/l rs.
This is the perfect accompaniment to oysters and whitebait…..