New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

When you think about wines from New Zealand, many people sway towards a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and those with a bit of cash in their pocket might play safe and choose a Cloudy Bay ( if they can find any). The white that, despite being named after a dull coastal geographical feature, achieved almost cult status in the nineties is still going strong. Now you’ll need to pay around £18 per bottle rather the £12 that I paid for my first case in the nineties. Not that Cloudy Bay is poor value at that price because it’s certainly a very nice wine, but there are some, typically wine trade professionals, that claim there are better wines at lower prices that don’t suffer from the hype. Don’t let them put you off though; everyone should taste Cloudy Bay at some point and form their own opinion – you certainly won’t be disappointed and at least you’ll be able to join in Cloudy Bay conversations if you feel inclined.

But if £18 is a bit much for you, then Majestic currently offer a bargain in the form of the Waimea Estate SB. Perhaps not as classy as the Cloudy Bay but, when served well, it still has that special something and retails for £7.99 if you buy at Majestic’s discounted rate, which is surpisingly cheap I feel when you put it up against the myriad of mass-produced SB’s within the NZ section of your wine store. Oyster Bay, Montana, Villa Maria and Jackson Estate all provide pretenders at this price point but none come close to the Waimea for style and quality. There are very few New Zealand SB wines retailing at less than £6, so to pay the extra 2 pounds is a small sacrifice for something a step above the ordinary.

Tags:  cloudy bay, sauvignon blanc