From Marlborough, New Zealand, I produced this wine the other night provoking an extreme polarised reaction to 'Sauvignon Blanc' before the bottle had even been poured. This is common, as it is one of a few grape varieties where most people pick out distinctive powerful aromas apart from 'wine flavour'. Instead of the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, where flavour tends to be more subtle, you suddenly have a major assault on your senses.

A bit like a seasoned Fosters lager drinker opting for a Hoegaarden.

Everyone becomes an expert wine critic with this varietal. It delivers such an overload of sensory information you just have to verbalise it.

This bottle slopes down imperceptibly from the gold screw top to the gold label. Once poured it looks almost like a glass of water. Deceptively innocuous, like 'butter would not melt...'. But it packs a 13.5% punch full of passion fruit and gooseberry. No matter how shot your palate, you will identify the aromas. There is no escape.


In truth I am not a huge Sauvignon Blanc fan, but as 'an aperitif' this one was both sharp and rounded. A small glass was actually a pleasant experience. Like being woken up with a vibrant massage of essential oils. It is pretty intense, gaining momentum and will certainly not pass you by unnoticed.

How do these particularly impressive aromatics get packed in?

Well according to Villa Maria they use gentle pressing, cool fermentation and several weeks of lees contact (lees is post fermentation deposit which is removed later on).

New Zealand is famous for reinventing Sauvignon Blanc, adding many big herbaceous aromatic ripe flavours to the mix. The combination of soil type, climate, harvest times and wine making techniques give the finished product this unique explosion of flavours.

So if you have just under £10 to spend on a Sauvignon Blanc, I would say this is a good bet. I will compare it with some cheaper New World alternatives at some point in my tasting notes.

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