Sauvignon Blanc recommendation sought

[Bloated]

I am choosing a Sauvignon Blanc as a birthday present. I am looking for immediate drinkability for someone who hasn't drank a lot of wines but knows they like sauvignon blanc.

I settled on the Villa Maria Reserve Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2001- but Oddbins now only have the 2002. Has anyone tasted this? What about the Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2002 (screwtop)?

Any other suggestion- please say where in London I can buy it if you make another suggestion

thank you

[Ron Johnson]

NZ sb's are lovely, very different from California, bordeaux, or Loire. I have not heard anything bad about the 2002, but have not actually tried it yet. I think the Villa Maria should be a fine choice.

Cheers.

[tommy]

i'm a big fan of the NZ style of SBs as well.

i've noticed very little difference between years. i'm assuming the 2002's will be pretty much the same as the 2001's, which were pretty much the same as 2000's. (cloudy bay, the producer, is one exception. the 95's and 96's were much different than later years).

you might also consider what impact the screw top (which villa maria also has) might have on your friend's appreciation of the gift. i think it's cool, but some don't know.

[Tonyfinch]

The Villa Maria will be fine if your fond of the very distinctive NZ style. Their reserve wines are excellent.

Your other option could be Sancerre or Pouilly Fume. Sancerre has ridden through its trendy image of some years back and and is producing softer, richer, more subtle wines than most NZ SB

[hollywood]

Cakebread is good if overpriced.

[Dave the Cook]

Cakebread is good if overpriced.

Yeah, but lousy when it's cheap.

[Dave the Cook]

A little more about NZ SBs, please, including names. There is very little of this in the stores here (Atlanta); the closest we get are Aussie Chards, and some Semillon Blanc. If I have to waylay a clerk, I'm going to need specifics.

Mrs. Dave is quite fond of SB; I'd like to find something that's not from the US West coast.

[s'kat]

My first introduction to Sauvignon Blancs was Cloudy Bay, and I've been hooked ever since.

Favourites now include Goldwater 2001, Lofthouse 2000, House of Nobilo 2001, Frog's Leap 2000, Alan Scott 2000, Sacred Hill ... I think it was a 2001.

That's my short list. I'd have to consult my husband for the long one.

*cheers*

--->edited to add one more to the list: Spottswoode 2000.

Edited February 14, 2003 by s'kat (log)

[Robert Nesta Marley]

i think spottswoode's is fine for a SB from CA. other than that, most NZ and CA SBs are going to be completely fruit-driven, whereas if you look to the loire you'll usually get an undercurrent of minerality, which can be intriguing--adding another dimension for someone who may be looking for it. sancerre is an obvious choice here, but i prefer pouilly fume. marcel dechamps' wines are quite aromatic, if you can find them there; look for the "les loges" designation on the bottle. the '98s are still lively should you be lucky enough to see any.

otherwise, look to friuli, et al for sauvignon. oftentimes concentrated gobs of apricots, but, again, it's not sancerre! sancerre, what's that?

[KatieLoeb]

A little more about NZ SBs, please, including names.

I LOVE the NZ Sauvignon Blancs. A much more fruity and 'in your face" style than the refined Sancerres and Pouilly-Fume most of us are accustomed to. Less "pee du chat" and mineral, more grass and grapefruit. The vintages don't matter quite as much in places where the weather is always hot and sunny. It only matters in places where the vines are on the outer edge of sustenance due to wild fluctuation in weather and cooler climates like Burgundy, Germany, etc.

I second the vote for the Allan Scott - just tried that a few months ago and it was delicious! I also like the Selaks and Koura Bay NZ Sauv blancs. Tasty stuff.

For something more refined, try the Domaine Dominique Roger Sancerre "La Jouline". Very sexy wine. For bargain Loire Valley Sauv blancs try some of the lesser known but equally delicious appellations such as Menetou-Salon, Entre-Deux-Mer or Sauvignon de St Bris. Many of these are as good or better than their neighbors, at a fraction of the price.

[Coop]

Ascevi Sauvignon from Italy. Very tasty grassy style wine. i also liked Dry Creek vineyard back in the days of David Stare. How about Mondavi to Kalon Block? Bit pricey though.

[hollywood]

Ascevi Sauvignon from Italy. Very tasty grassy style wine. i also liked Dry Creek vineyard back in the days of David Stare. How about Mondavi to Kalon Block? Bit pricey though.

Forgot about Mondavi. The Private Selection Fume Blanc (an appellation Mondavi somehow grabbed for himself in California) is very good.

[britcook]

I've tried the Wither Hills 2002 (from Waitrose IIRC) and it was excellent. Certainly comparable to the Villa Maria, screw top and all. If you're into Kiwi-style SBs Virgin wine do (or at least did) a fine tasting case which included a Cloudy Bay - allowed me to taste it in advance of my usual half case allotment.

[Adam Balic]

NZ SB 2002 drinking very well at the moment. In some cases (mostly Marlborough wineries) it tastes like a somebody has added passionfruit flavout to the wine.

I can't agree that the vintages don't matter as much. In some cases the wines are very disapointing for the usual wine making reasons (in this case often over ripe fruit with little acid). With NZ SB there seems to be a great deal of case variation, I have especially noticed this with Cloudy Bay, which is annoying given how hard/expensive it is to get this in many places. In general, the nice things about NZ SB don't improve very much with age and they often don't develop interesting secondary flavours (an exception to this would be some back vintages of Cloudy Bay ('92?) which I drank, they had developed the most amazing cassis/blackcurrant flavours, but this is a rarity), so it is best to stick with the most recent vintage.

[indiagirl]

Paliser Estate is another excellent NZ SB. Recently had it next to Cloudy

Bay and it was at least as good. 2002 should be easily available.

[coolhandluke]

New World wine producing regions (South Africa, New Zealand, etc.) are turning out some fantastic Sauvignon Blancs in recent years. Try Tohu from New Zealand (they get their grapes from the same vineyards that Cloudy Bay got theirs from during that fantastic 2001 vintage) Very approachable in price and great grassy grapefruity flavor typical of New World Sauv Blanc with nice astringency. Also five the Stellenbosch Sauv Blanc from South Africa a try. Softer, yet full of flavor - kiwi, grapefruit, lush grassiness. Villa Maria's cellar selections have been great in the past without breaking the bank as well. I would go grab a bottle now if I didn't ave to go to work tonight

[carpet bagger]

If price is not important then one of my favorites is Tement Zieregg from Austria.If you can still find the 1997 and it has been stored properly you will have a real treat. It is not over grassy it is very elegant, complex long finish on the palate. A food friendly sauvignon blanc. By the way as much as I really like this I have had mixed experiences with different vintages so chack carefully about the level of the current vintage. If you are able to find the Araujo sauvignon blanc from Napa you would have a very Bordeaux style complex full of different flavors and aromas. Though vintages differ you will only notice differences. I have never had a bad Araujo.

[SFJoe]

but i prefer pouilly fume. 

Really? Why?

Whose do you prefer to Vatan, or one of the Cotats, or even Thomas-Labaille? Lots of very mundane Sancerre out there, of course, but I haven't found a P-F to reach the same heights. Of course, I don't get out much.... I'm also more interested in the minerals than the fruit. Not that everyone has to feel the same way. Not that there's anything wrong with fruit.

In California, I've had so-so stuff from Selene and Brian Babcock, but nothing I'd actually buy myself.

[Beachfan]

Babcock's Eleven Oaks in 1998 (I think, maybe 99) was really superb. But the next year, it wasn't. Same thing with Caymus.

Murphy-Goode makes a decent reserve Sauvignon Blanc, something that I might order at a restaurant, but don't buy for the home. Again, it depends on the year.

[Robert Nesta Marley]

but i prefer pouilly fume.

Really? Why?

generally speaking, across the board (and perhaps because the production of P-F is so much smaller than that of sancerre), i find the majority of P-F more compelling than the majority of sancerre. plus, you get tired of people in nyc asking for a glass of sancerre every ten minutes, when you suspect that the majority of them would really prefer a glass of cakebread chardonnay if it were put in front of them. so "sancerre" feels trendy, and no i have nothing to back that up with other than personal experience. and i can be biased against trendiness for the sake of, blah blah.

no, there's not the minerality in P-F that drives the wine in cotat freres etc. and have you tasted the top cuvees from crochet, the october 21st? (lucien crochet, sancerre) and there's another one that's slipping from memory now. so do i prefer a top sancerre prduction to a top P-F? well, it depends what i feel like drinking. but dageneau P-F i would not turn down. (although sometimes it sees oak, i think).

[Niall]

I really like thye Vavasour Marlborough SB. The 2002 Australian Adelaide Hills wines are suprub also; try the Tower Estate or the Shaw and Smith if you can get them.

Also good from NZ are Huia, Giesen, Wairau River, Goldwater, Montana Reserve from Marlborough and Neudorf and Rippon from the rest. I haven't tried the Wither Hills at all though I've heard its good.

[Bobaloo]

Kunde Magnolia Lane Sauvignon Blanc has been a delight to anyone I've served it to.

It's wonderful scent of peaches is a treat with spicy seafood dishes.

[SFJoe]

but i prefer pouilly fume.  

Really? Why?

generally speaking, across the board (and perhaps because the production of P-F is so much smaller than that of sancerre), i find the majority of P-F more compelling than the majority of sancerre. plus, you get tired of people in nyc asking for a glass of sancerre every ten minutes, when you suspect that the majority of them would really prefer a glass of cakebread chardonnay if it were put in front of them. so "sancerre" feels trendy, and no i have nothing to back that up with other than personal experience. and i can be biased against trendiness for the sake of, blah blah.

no, there's not the minerality in P-F that drives the wine in cotat freres etc. and have you tasted the top cuvees from crochet, the october 21st? (lucien crochet, sancerre) and there's another one that's slipping from memory now. so do i prefer a top sancerre prduction to a top P-F? well, it depends what i feel like drinking. but dageneau P-F i would not turn down. (although sometimes it sees oak, i think).

Hmmm. What happened to my amusing reply? Posted it a couple of days ago and it's gone like a Nixon tape, as the John Hiatt song would have it.

Didn't realize that Sancerre was so red hot in the NYC market. Prices are certainly high in France even for quite mundane Sancerre, and the red is seriously hot, but didn't know it had spread so thoroughly.

Dagueneau certainly makes good, if occasionally woody SB. I may be biased against him because he seems trendy for the sake of trendiness....

Haven't had the October 21st. Is that a harvest date, or does it commemorate an important revolutionary date? I like his wines. though i'd usually rather have something from the damned hill than Bue'.

These days I'm drinking Sancerre with pix of dogs on the bottle.

Off topic, what do you make of red Sancerre? Personally, I think it's all a mistake--the stuff would all be better as rose.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Dagueneau makes Pouilly Fume. And you like that stuff? I would think it is too modern for you. I used to own some but it aged so poorly that I dumped it.

[Beachfan]

I had a lovely white Bordeaux last night, 1997 Smith Haute Lafite. I'm pretty sure that's a Sauvignon Blanc.