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Sauvignon Republic Marlborough Blanc 2006

A group of enterprising friends comprised of Winemakers John Buechsenstein and Paul Dolan plus restaurant and culinary experts John Ash and Tom Meyer have found an attractive vehicle for marketing their collective favorite white wine variety. Sauvignon Republic Cellars now has three labels: Marlborough New Zealand, Stellenbosch South Africa, and Russian River Valley California.

These guys appreciate the variations you can get when you go around the world looking for Sauvignon Blanc. I agree and think they're onto something and am hoping they also bottle some wine from France and as well as the Columbia Valley in the future.

Excellent value ($18). Closure: Screw cap. Alcohol content: 13%.

Style: Citrus-y, a bit tropical, a bit green, un-wooded, very tart and dry.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Pale straw with a greenish tint. Aromas: Gooseberry, passionfruit, celery and green herbs. The tart acidity is in high gear, providing an overall intense Marlborough experience and a shrilling finish.

Comment: Pucker up buttercup.

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Wildly urbane would better describe this wild white than truly wild as many a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc tends to be. Like many genuinely created wines, this one is an accurate reflection of the visionaries behind it, as well as the place it comes from.

Craggy Range is named for the small mountains in view of the Giants Winery facility, the impressive winemaking studio and gallery built to showcase the best of the Gimblett Gravels region in Hawkes Bay New Zealand. The venture known as Craggy Range is only about 10 years old, started by businessman Terry Peabody and his wife Mary-Jeanne and acclaimed Master of Wine Steve Smith. They have spent enormous sums to see their vision of a world class winery take shape, and it shows.

The Te Muna Road Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc blocks are located in a recently created gravel plateau (in the floods of 1876) which was almost given over to quarry duty. But to the astute winegrowers' eye it turned out to be perfect for its newfound purpose. Ti Muna translates to "secret place".

Adrian Baker is credited with making this wine, working under Rod Easthope who focuses more on the Bordeaux reds.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Very pale straw. Aromas: Candied lime, green apple, and hints of honeyed apricot, quince and flint. Zesty light, sweet and tart, then dry and clean, the lime, grapefruit, downplayed passionfruit and amply minerally notes play into an electric minimalist finish.

Excellent value ($18). Closure: Screw cap. Alcohol content: 13%

Alder Yarrow of Wine Blog Vinography visited Craggy Range in January 2007 and his review is good reading as well as a good planning tool for a visit.

Silver Beach Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006

The beautiful but extremely quiet label belies the underlying generously wild tropical nature of this new New Zealander.

Spy Valley's Ant Mackenzie is the winemaker for Silver Beach Sauvignon Blanc 2006.  The fruit was sourced from Johnson Estate's vineyards in Wairau Valley on the terraces of the Omaka River.

Tasting Notes: Color: Light straw.  Aromas: Somewhat tropical for a Marlborough, with ripe pear and apricot joining the expected passionfruit and grapefruit nose.  The mouthfeel is light-bodied tart and dry.  Grapefruit, celery and starfruit flavors are plentiful in the refreshing finish.

Excellent value ($13).  Closure: Screw cap.  Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Wake up your nose.  The 2006 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has arrived, and it is very forward, showing lots of New Zealand zeal this year.

Tasting Notes: Color: Pale straw, slightly greenish.  Aromas: Abundant tropical passionfruit with green celery, lemon and starfruit.  On the tongue, the body is light, tart approaching shrill, and there's plenty of grapefruit, green apple and gooseberry flavors that finish crisp and very dry.

Outstanding value ($11, on sale).  Closure: Screw cap.  Alcohol content: 13%

Kim Crawford is owned by Vincor, under the same umbrella with Toasted Head, Hogue and Jackson-Triggs.

Winewaves recommended the 2005 and 2004 vintages of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc 2005

The Allan Scott Family comes through again with an honest and pure expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.  There are a lot of superb New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs to choose from this year, so mix it up and include this one.

Next generation Josh Scott and Jeremy McKenzie are the youthful winemakers, who work with the Marlborough fruit carefully watched over by founder/father Allan Scott. Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc is literally "made in the vineyard", tank fermented and "aged" in cool stainless steel.

Tasting Notes: Color: Pale straw with a greenish tint.  Aromas: Grapefruit, gooseberry, lime and sage/herbs.  Tart and borderline shrill on the tongue, the lemon/lime and starfruit flavors finish steely clean.

Closure: Screw cap.  Very nice value ($15).  Alcohol content: 13%.

Discovery Sauvignon Blanc 2005

If it seems we are awash with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, then I say drink it while the getting is good.  This Discovery Sauvignon Blanc 2005 is a new example of a minerally-slanted, otherwise "textbook New Zealand" wild white.

Nearly 1/2 of the grapes came from the "Colonial Vineyard" in the Awatere Valley, just southeast of the Marlborough Plain.  The other half was sourced from various vineyards in Wairau Valley.

Tasting Notes: Color: Pale straw with a greenish tint.  Aromas: Gooseberry, flint, apricot and lime.  Light-to-medium-bodied and mouthwatering, the tart citrusy passionfruit and herb flavors carry well.

Closure: Screw cap.  Very nice value ($15).  Alcohol content: 13%.

American Estates is importer.  They are also known for Turkey Flat (Australia) and Mount Eden (California) among many others.

Brancott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

A high-strung wild white at a pretty good price equals one cool performance by Pernod Ricard's Brancott Vineyards.

Winemaker Julia O'Connell reports Brancott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005 is 100% varietal, vinified in stainless steel. Alcohol content: 13%. Tasting Notes. Color: Pale straw. Aromas: Gooseberry, green bell pepper, parsley and mango. Citrusy tart, lemon-limey, oily with flavor, green - approaching shrill - in a good way, the finish gets you ready for what's next. Closure: Screw cap. Outstanding value ($12). Food Pairing: Mediterranean potato salad with feta cheese and kalamata olives.

Wairau River Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

One of Marlborough's largest independently-owned wine estates, Wairau River produced expressive near-perfect breed-standard New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in 2005.  Phil & Chris Rose are founder/owners of Wairau River.

The Roses first planted vines nearly 30 years ago, and began their own label 15 years ago. Allan McWilliams and founders' son Sam Rose are the winemakers at Wairau River. McWilliams reports Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc 2005 is 100%-varietal estate-grown fruit, and vinified in all stainless steel. Alcohol content: 13%. Tasting Notes. Color: Pale straw. Aromas: Penetrating gooseberry, passionfruit, apricot and hints of flint and slate. Lean, tart and light on the tongue, the grapefruit and gooseberry flavors penetrate the taste buds. Dry clean finish. Closure: Screw cap. Outstanding value ($15).

Nobilo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Constellation Brands' Nobilo has perfected the art and commerce of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

They produce Drylands, Selaks and Monkey Bay labels in addition to Nobilo. As these labels came together under the C-Brands umbrella since the late 1990's, several talented sauvignon blanc makers also came together. Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc was processed start-to-finish in all stainless steel. Tasting Notes. Color: Pale golden. Aromas: passionfruit, grapefruit and a touch of honey. On the tongue, the body is light, and there is a sweet-tart crispness. Tangy lemon poppyseed flavors echo in the finish. Closure: Real cork. Excellent value ($10).

Drylands Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Sales of Drylands* 2005 Sauvignon Blanc jumped when Wine Spectator gave it 91 points. Darryl Woolley and his winemaking team (Alistair McIntosh and David Edmonds) seek to emphasize the uniqueness of Marlborough's terroir. Small lots of fruit from separate vineyard locations were fermented in stainless and allowed to remain on the lees for 2 additional weeks. Tasting Notes. Color: Light straw, greenish tint. Aromas: Lemon-lime, gooseberry, grass and pineapple. Light-bodied, the lime, grapefruit and peach flavors in the mouth finish dry and clean. Closure: Screw cap. Very nice value ($14).

*Since the 1990's, the development and ownership of Drylands Winery has proceeded from its start-up by Selaks, to being owned by Nobilo when Nobilo bought Selaks in 1998, to being owned by Constellation Brands when C-Brands bought Nobilo. The Nobilo group also started and owns the enormously successful Monkey Bay label, and they also own Hardy's and Stonehaven in Australia.