#newwinethisweek Week 36 – Sauvignon Blanc, Chile
A few years ago I drank a lot of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc; many of us did. In fact it became so popular that it appeared like half of the bottles available on the shelves of the supermarkets and wine merchants alike came from Marlborough. But, like many others I have spoken to, I got bored of it. The super-charged tropical fruit, the green pepper, the whiff of cat-pee. I thought I’d fallen out of love with Sauvignon, where in fact I had only fallen out of love with Kiwi SB.
Last summer I spent a few days in Sancerre and got my SB mojo back, then I discovered the great value Sauvignon Blanc coming out of Chile, which is this week’s #newwinethisweek
Chile is the 8th largest wine producing country in the world and second to Argentina in South America. The country itself is a geographical masterpiece, spanning 2,700 miles from north to south, yet only 100 miles wide. Chile has been described as “a winegrower’s paradise” due to its wide array of terroirs and climates. The country is perhaps best known for the chocolaty and herbal Carménère (which we covered back in week 2) but is also gaining a reputation for the quality of it’s white wines, namely Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
The Sauvignons are just so damn drinkable; crisp and grassy with bright fruit and erlegant acidity, there really isn’t a lot to dislike about these wines, especially those from quality areas such as the Casablanca and Elqui valleys. As well as delighting the senses, these wines are also very pleasing to the pocket, so I hope you’re all looking forward to some of the best value for money bottles of the entire year!
Cono Sur Bicicleta Sauvignon Blanc 2013 (Tesco £6.99)
Montes Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Casablanca Valley (Tesco £7.49)
Errazuriz Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Aconcagua Valley (Waitrose £6.66 was £9.99)
Ulmen Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Central Valley (M&S £5.99)
You know the rules… buy a bottle, have a slurp and tell us what you think!
Posted on September 8, 2014, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
Confessions of a Wine Geek
Reblogged this on Please Bring Me My Wine and commented:
Back to Chile for Ant this week
Personally, I quite like that whiff of cat pee, but I do recognise that I have a problem 😉
I’m sure its beneficial in the Circus Garden!
And the best Chilean SB would have that perfect characteristic cat pee aroma 🙂 Look for Anakena SB if you can find it – outstanding wine.
I’m keeping my eye (and nose) out for the clean fresh value wines this week… I’m all cat-peed out!
I really enjoy the Carmenere, and although it’s really different from SB, I have enough faith in Chilean wines to check it out…I will confess, I’ve never really tried much SB, but I’m always looking to broaden my horizons.
I think Chilean SB is a great entry – freshness of new world with the subtle ness of the Loire… Enjoy!
Following a few weeks off sweating in Florida sipping some cracking Pinots and Cab Savs, I’m well chuffed to be back in a proper climate getting stuck back into #NWTW and some cool whites. Just gutted I missed Aussie Shiraz week; think I might have to do a double bubble one week to catch up!
Every single wine lover must profess to be passionate about at least one country’s version of Sauvignon Blanc. Each country that produces it leans to a different style, and even within its cultural home there’s creative tension between Bordeaux and The Loire over its stylistic character.
Chile was lucky enough not to be plagued by the infamous phylloxera bug in the late 1900’s, and therefore grows it Sav Blanc from ungrafted vines. Their style is definitely more older world than new, usually showing more self-discipline and subtlety than our Kiwi friends.
I jumped at the chance of a bargain Errazuriz Estate Series 2013 from Waitrose at £6.66 down from £9.99, but missed the boat by a few days unfortunately. It’s still a fair price to pay for an old reliable producer such as Errazuriz. The Waitrose wine guy actually reckons their own version is as good for £6.99, so I’ll be trying that next time.
The wine’s an attractive pale lemon with one of the most pronounced noses possible for a white. So much going on I couldn’t stop offering it around the room for others to check out! I’ve managed to turn my Mother in law into a wine geek since she’s been staying over the past 2 months (don’t ask!), and she reckons this is her favourite so far.
There’s a complete trifle of tropical fruits going on with mango, pineapple, lychee and other spiky ones I don’t quite know the name of! The palate is a rush of refreshing acidity with gooseberries, light floral notes and a smooth mineral finish which balances off nicely. The length’s really astonishing and illustrates the great style and finesse of this cracking wine.
A trifling 8/10
Awesome review as usual John! I didn’t have the chance to drink a Shiraz last week either as I was at a wedding… One of whom was an Aussie, oh the irony! Maybe we need another meet up to put us both straight!
Sounds like a plan Ant-we’ll get something sorted soon (a bit nearer West than East this time though!)
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