2010 Nine Walks Sauvignon Blanc

This bottle is what we call an industry sample - in the interest of full disclosure I need to tell you this bottle was comped. It was still tasted in the same rigorous way as all wines we taste here - semi-blind without a care of hurt feelings or broken relationships, this is a blog after all. That said, this retails for $11

Classic New Zealand SB nose - grassy and grapefruity with a bit of vanilla bean.

While the whole grapefruit and grass thing is there, there's also some great tangerine notes, vanilla, well balanced acid and I'm going to say there's a dash of sugar or two, but it all works together nicely.

White cherry in a Slurpee kinda way on the finish, with orange blossom, grapefruit zest, and a bit of rose.

On par, if not better, than most $10 New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I've had. This one is certainly worthy of being put in your rotation.

Score: 88

2008 Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc

This is a tough wine to gauge the price...it's the kinda wine that seems to retail for $16ish, but it's always on sale for $10-13, so basically, if you're interested, shop around.

Zest...lime zest, perhaps lemon zest....a zesty nose.

Grapefruit dominates, mostly white grapefruit implying more acid and tartness than sugar, along with some green apple qualities. Not sweet, but not over the top in its acidity.

Grapefruit on the finish that fades quickly.

Not bad, but I guess not really my style - I tend to prefer the cheap New Zealand SBs. If you found it cheap, you could do worse, but you could also certainly do better.

Score: 84

2009 Starborough Sauvignon Blanc

This goes for about $10. We don't really drink much Sauvignon Blanc, but it's a good summer wine, one I'll probably make a point to explore a bit more in depth this year.

Grassy and grapefruity on the nose.

The thing I like about this varietal, especially from New Zealand, is that they are usually quite dry, but don't really "feel" dry - grapefruit dominates with grassy qualities, orange pith - general citrus pith I suppose - and even a bit of green apple peel.

Jelly Belly Pink Grapefruit on the finish. Jelly Belly Harry Potter Grass beans as well.

I'll be the first to say wines like this are tough to score - it's not terribly deep or complex, but I'll be damned if it ain't tasty.

Score: 87

2010 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc

This goes for about $11 - we don't drink enough Sauvignon Blanc and it seemed like it may be a good pairing with a buffalo chicken pizza.

A "tropical" nose - snow on the ground, this just doesn't smell right with grapefruit, pineapple, maybe even mango.

Fruity, perhaps a tad sweet, but great acid to balance it - a touch creamy, mostly tropical, mango is more pronounced, papaya, pineapple, pink grapefruit.

A bit of white grapefruit on the finish - some more tart qualities come through, stronger (yet less sweet) pineapple, and certainly papaya.

A nice bottle of wine to be sure...if you have one, save it for a warm day, it just seems cruel to open this in the winter.

Score: 88

N/V Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc

Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc from Australia - interesting. The bottle ran me $13 - I haven't seen this producer's products before, so I snagged this one first and foremost.

A bit grassy on the nose with some pink grapefruit.

As the nose suggested....pink grapefruit and some grassiness. At the risk of this becoming the worst post ever, this tastes like a serviceable New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a bit of fizz...I mean, it's so Sauv Blancy, the fizz almost isn't noticeable.

This is the worst review ever....grass and pink grapefruit on the finish...slightly sweet, lingers for a while, all quite pleasant.

You know...it's almost like this wine is a gimmick, it's the kind of thing you'd expect from a crappy molecular gastronomy sorta place...."ooh, this is like a Sauvignon Blanc, only carbonated" and then you try it and think "yep."

Score: 85

2007 Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc

A somewhat grassy nose – we don't drink much Sauvignon Blanc so this is a thinker to be sure. I feel like there's some coconut and pineapple going on in there as well.

I'm getting more fresh grass on the palate and more tropical fruit – grapefruit, pineapple – and a little bit of green pepper (the vegetable) all with a dash of white pepper (the spice). There's a slight touch of sweetness and a reasonable balance of acid.

The finish is somewhat vegetal – green and yellow bell pepper and even a bit of asparagus. Strange.

I'm probably being generous with my wine rating because I have less experience with SB, but this is certainly an interesting wine.

Wine: 7
Value: Definitely

2006 Martinborough Vineyards Te Tera Sauvignon Blanc

We tried this at a tasting and enjoyed it enough to snag a bottle at fifteen big ones.

A citrusy nose with some great fresh cut grass notes.

While I don't recall the tasting at which we tried this, at first sip I see why we bought it. This has what I would describe as an ideal balance – just a bit of sugar and a whole mess of acid. Pink grapefruit – almost a grapefruit cocktail thing going – actually...this is just like the leftover syrup in canned/jarred grapefruit. There's also some limeade sort of notes. As the bottle opens and warms up a bit I get some vanilla bean and some fuzzy pineapple.

The acid lingers with more grapefruit and some grassy notes – just as it's about to completely fade away a burst of mango comes through – it's curious.

Your enjoyment on this wine will most likely be directly related to your love of grapefruit. I'm a fan of both.

Wine: 9
QPR: 9

2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Kim Crawford is a highly respected producer which we've trid at tastings and thoroughly enjoyed. I grabbed a bottle of this for $14.

A huge nose of grass and tropical fruit – pineapple and passionfruit.

Nice and crisp – bold notes of citrus and tropical fruits. Pineapple, papaya, passionfruit, and grapefruit. Slate and minerals with a touch of sweetness – perhaps some limeade – and even a taste of grass. I'm a bit surprised at just how “large” this wine is – it begs for food, I'd go with some sort of spicy Asian or Mexican faire.

Lime and grapefruit on the finish. Crisp acid leaves the mouth watering.

This was highly rated all around and certainly deserves to be – powerful, complex, and amazingly, under $15. Perhaps the finest QPR we've ever had. Outstanding and strongly recommended.