So we rang in the new year at an Argentinian steak house stuffing ourselves with rare cooked fillet steak accompanied by some nice Argentinian single vineyard Malbec. It's a new year and everyone is talking about making new years resolutions and this got me wondering, what if you are struggling to come up with a new years resolution? If so I've got one for you: Give up New Zealand, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc! Yep that's right I said it, stop drinking it........ right now.
But why B? you might be asking. Well simple really, they are just a generic cocktail of too much acid, floral notes and marketing hype that knows nothing more than a stainless steel vat. They are best served in a chilled glass and then poured down the sink! Why Oyster Bay is and continues to be the #1 selling Savy B in Australia is beyond me! Even worse than that Nobilo is the #1 selling Savy B in the US........
Marlborough Savy is a bubble that is about to burst, just like the heavily wooded Chardonnay of yesterday.
Here are three reasons why you shouldn't drink Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc:
- Look to the hills, the Adelaide Hills that is. If you must drink
Sauvignon Blanc there is some prime examples coming out of the Hills
that aren't overly worked and they are reasonably priced. Some examples
include; Chain of Ponds 'Black Thursday' Sauvignon Blanc and the lesser
known 'Whippet' from Longview. Then you have the Penfolds Thomas Hyland
Sauvignon Blanc which is a big call for me as Penfolds is a dirty word
in my house, as I have rarely been impressed with their wine esp for the
price.
All of these can be picked up for under $20, have won gold medals at wine shows and represent great value for money. - Now lets not forget our old friend Riesling! Rieslings drink so well this time of the year, the higher levels of clean acid and citrus flavors are very refreshing on a hot summer day. Just do yourself a favor and go to the bottle shop and pick up a bottle of Pewsey Vale Riesling, its got to be one of the best value for money Rieslings I've ever come across. A step up from this is the Mesh Riesling made by two of the best names in the business; Jeffery Grosset (easily the best Riesling maker in Australia) and Robert Hill Smith of Yalumba.
- Now I'm going to throw you a curve ball on this one and say Gruner Vetliner. It's a native grape of Austria but some Australian producers are making fine examples of it. One of which is Hahndorf Hill Winery in the Adelaide Hills. I believe Gruner has a place on the Australian market, so for more info stay tuned as this is the next review I'm going to do.
Ciao,
B
