This Week's Wine: Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc, white wine of the Loire, Bordeaux and other parts of France, has also become, with increasing fame, the white wine of New Zealand.

There, its rise and rise is one of the success stories of modern times, and its tang of gooseberries more pronounced than that of sauvignons from other countries.

The tang, indeed, is in danger of becoming too overpowering - to the extent that there are many Kiwi Sauvignons, some of them quite expensive, which are becoming positively deterring.  The initials once insultingly applied to Australian Chardonnay - ABC, standing for “anything but Chardonnay” - seem in danger of finding a New Zealand Sauvignon equivalent, especially if the wine comes from the productive Marlborough region, primary source of some of the most aggressive Sauvignons.

But in the supermarkets at present there is a refreshingly non-assertive Kiwi Sauvignon, whose source is admittedly Marlborough and liable to be dismissed as ordinary.

In fact the 2014 Mud House Sauvignon, in its rather plain bottle, which Waitrose has reduced from £9.99 to £6.64, is a very  pleasant specimen of its kind. To some palates it may seem uninteresting but it is muscular enough to be appetising and as an aperitif it will not undermine a more  voluptuous New Zealand Pinot Noir to follow.

Majestic Wines are selling it for £6.99 and, since Tesco's price is likewise higher, the Waitrose offer is the one to go for.
2 November 2015