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WINE OF THE WEEK: Tesco Finest Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2019, Australia

Apr 22

WINE OF THE WEEK: Tesco Finest Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2019, Australia

£8, Tesco Sunshine would be welcome with this racy dry white, but I'm happy to settle for lesser weather as long as I have the wine in my glass. Western Australian Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends have a style of their own – energising, positive and aromatic with the incisive green fruit of the Sauvignon filled out by subtle, blossomy softness from the Semillon (24% here) and enhanced, in this case, by a mouthwatering smoky, flinty character, green apple, herb and elderflower

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château de Rochemorin Pessac-Léognan 2016, Bordeaux, France

Dec 10, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château de Rochemorin Pessac-Léognan 2016, Bordeaux, France

£13.99 on offer, Waitrose I said at the beginning of the year that we should all drink more Sauternes and followed with a resolution a couple of days later to drink more dry white Bordeaux as well. This Pessac-Léognan (the superior AOC enclave of Graves) is one of the dry whites I've loved – and it's currently on offer, so there's no excuse not to indulge. It also happens to go well with smoked salmon, if that's on any of your festive menus. It's a barrel-fermented Sauvignon

WINE OF THE WEEK: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Marlborough, New Zealand

Oct 29, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Marlborough, New Zealand

£21.50–£26.95, The Champagne Company, ND John, Majestic*, Clos19, Laithwaites, Jeroboams This is the first Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc I've tasted in a few years. I always used to like New Zealand's iconic wine and I've seen how well it can age, but I wasn't expecting to make it a Wine of the Week. After all, it's expensive, it doesn't need a helping hand and you can find other very good New Zealand Sauvignons more cheaply. But I was really impressed; I loved it. It's got conc

WINE OF THE WEEK: Vasse Felix Classic Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Margaret River, Australia

Oct 1, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: Vasse Felix Classic Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Margaret River, Australia

£12, Tesco I can't quite believe this is my first Wine of the Week from the 2020 vintage. So much has happened this year, the southern hemisphere harvest seems aeons ago. Even Champagne started picking seven weeks ago... But enough musing, let's get on with the wine. A zingy, citrus-facing white might not immediately seem a match for the current weather, but Semillon (70% of the blend) has mouthfeel – a delicate, oily roundness and suppleness that gives substance to the vibra

WINE OF THE WEEK: The Doctors' Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough New Zealand

Apr 2, 2020

WINE OF THE WEEK: The Doctors' Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough New Zealand

£8–£10, Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, Booths The name of last week's wine of the week translated as "no fuss". This week it's The Doctors. It could be a metaphor for what's been happening in some parts of the world in recent weeks, but neither wine was chosen for its name. I've had this Sauvignon Blanc lined up for a while but was waiting for warmer weather (I've given up on that) and for the 2019 vintage to be well stocked (no need to spurn the 2018 if that's what you find). At a

The Festive White Wine Guide 2019

Dec 11, 2019

The Festive White Wine Guide 2019

My round-up of white wines from around the globe to cover Christmas and all the other festivities from simple supper to a big splash that demands something like a smart white Burgundy. It's always more difficult to find cheap white wines with something to say for themselves than it is to find inexpensive reds with some character, but the ones below should do the trick and I've also thrown in a keenly priced pale rosé from New Zealand. Wines are listed in ascending order of pr

WINE OF THE WEEK: Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand

Jan 24, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand

£14.95–£17.99, Divine Fine Wines and other independents Maybe it's hankering after something to match, rather than beat, the mood of bracing January weather. Maybe it's the thought of a vitalising tonic. Maybe it's just that a lot of the new-vintage southern hemisphere Sauvignons take to the shelves. Whatever, there's always a moment in January when I crave Sauvignon Blanc. The latest Greywacke Sauvignon hits the spot. I tasted it before Christmas then again last week when w

WINE OF THE WEEK: Famille Bougrier La Grande Réserve Touraine Chenonceaux 2017, Loire, France

Sep 13, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: Famille Bougrier La Grande Réserve Touraine Chenonceaux 2017, Loire, France

£11.99, in any 6-bottle mix, Majestic Touraine Chenonceaux is a small appellation on the River Cher east of Tours, created as recently as 2011. (What took them so long? The splendid Château de Chenonceau has been spanning the river there since the sixteenth century.) The white wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc and have some of the green fruit and bite of Sancerre (about 150k upstream on the Loire) but wrapped in more succulent, tropical fruit, which makes them a good bridge

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château de Cruzeau Blanc 2015, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France

Aug 30, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château de Cruzeau Blanc 2015, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France

£17.99, Waitrose It may seem unlikely that any sort of Bordeaux wine is underrated or not as well known as it should be, but white Bordeaux, whether dry, elegant and complex like this or lusciously sweet and intense like Sauternes, is neglected by great swathes of wine drinkers. There are signs – just – that the dry whites are starting to pick up speed, but there's plenty of room for more, so here's a wine to convert people. It's made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc, giving th

Sauvignon catch-up

Jan 29, 2018

Sauvignon catch-up

My Festive White Wine Guide last month was light on Sauvignon Blanc, so I’m putting that right with 8 recommendations here, in a variety of styles and at a variety of prices, and with this week's Wine of the Week. Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Adelaide Hills, Australia Light and sprightly with lemon and pink-grapefruit flavours flecked with pear and white peach, delicate mid-palate texture and racy, refreshing acidity. Ideal for people who don’t like grassy green or pung

WINE OF THE WEEK: De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Durbanville, South Africa

Jan 25, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Durbanville, South Africa

£8.99, on offer until 20 February, Waitrose and Ocado The weather in London is looking a bit more Sauvignon Blanc-friendly than it has been recently, but this isn't a bracingly sharp, cold-shower kind of Sauvignon anyway. It's certainly not short on zing and vibrancy, but ageing the newly fermented wine on its lees (yeasty residues) has added a delicate creaminess to the juicy white peach, apricot and grassy pea-shoot flavours. It's only then that the palate dives headlong in

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine La Croix Canat Sancerre Les Blancs Gâteaux 2015, France

Jul 6, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine La Croix Canat Sancerre Les Blancs Gâteaux 2015, France

£15.99, Cadman Fine Wines You can drink Sancerre at any time of the year and I do – it goes with all sorts of fish and seafood, goats' cheeses, asparagus, salads, including those with tomatoes and red peppers; it can even work with a light Thai green curry. But there's something about summer sunshine that makes the lure of a good Sancerre even stronger. And this one is the real deal. Sancerre: a whoosh of bracingly grassy, lime and herb aromas, some riper peach-like fruit in

WINE OF THE WEEK: Jackson Estate Stich Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

May 25, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Jackson Estate Stich Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

£11.99 in a 6-bottle mix, Majestic Some of the previous vintages of Jackson’s Stich Sauvignon have tasted more pungently green and tangy. The 2016 is slightly softer and lighter, although we’re talking relatively here: it’s still a classic Marlborough Sauvignon – jaunty, vivacious and aromatic, with elderflower, gooseberry and zesty lime flavours, a dazzling, fresh finish and a texture that’s been fattened slightly by a few months’ ageing on the lees (keeping the wine on the

WINE OF THE WEEK: Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

Feb 2, 2017

WINE OF THE WEEK: Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Marlborough, New Zealand

£13.50, The Wine Society, Hennings Wine It’s hard for any New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to stand out from the massed crowds, but Dog Point always stands tall with its depth, vibrancy and perfect balance. The duo behind it are Ivan Sutherland and James Healy, who originally worked together at the legendary Cloudy Bay as chief viticulturalist and head winemaker, respectively. At Dog Point their approach is environmentally friendly and organic in the vineyard – around 2000 sheep g

WINE OF THE WEEK: Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Aconcagua, Chile

Nov 10, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Aconcagua, Chile

£8.99, down from £11.99 until 6 December, Waitrose Shimmering brilliance and seamless layers of flavour – beautifully expressive Sauvignon from a vineyard less than eight miles from the Pacific Ocean. Maybe it’s auto-suggestion but I find a sea-salty tang beneath the vibrant citrus, greengage and smoky, flinty flavours. Errazuriz’s more everyday Sauvignons are reliably good value, but this is more than the equal of a good Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé – and great value at the curr

WINE OF THE WEEK: Cimarosa Estate Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2015, New Zealand

Jun 9, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Cimarosa Estate Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2015, New Zealand

£5.79, Lidl I recommended a cracking New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc – Churton – a few weeks back. Now I’m giving you the bargain-basement version. Cimarosa is obviously a lighter, simpler wine than the complex, rich Churton, but it’s textbook Marlborough Sauvignon all the same, with elderflower, nettle and gooseberry flavours and lots of lemon-lime zing. It’s better and more refreshing than many an example at £2–£3 more a bottle. No surprise that it makes a reviving aperitif, bu

WINE OF THE WEEK: Churton Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014, New Zealand

May 5, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Churton Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014, New Zealand

£13.80, Tanners, www.tanners-wines.co.uk I don’t know who comes up with these things, but tomorrow is International Sauvignon Blanc Day. If you need another excuse to drink Sauvignon, it’s the English asparagus season. New Zealand Sauvignon might seem a tad unimaginative, especially when it’s from Marlborough, the main region, but Churton is different. It’s a year older than most of the southern hemisphere Sauvignons on the shelves, it’s from a biodynamically farmed vineyard

WINE OF THE WEEK: Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 2013, Western Cape

Mar 31, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 2013, Western Cape

£90 for 6 bottles, Armit Wines; £13.60 The Bottle Bank A label and name for dog lovers, for sure, but the stylish, barrel-matured dry white wine should captivate everyone. It’s made in the Cape to a Bordeaux model using Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that were partly fermented and aged in French oak. The oak gives a richer flavour and texture, but fermenting some of the Sauvignon in stainless steel tanks keeps the wine’s aromatic lime-curd zing and grapefruit snap. It’s

WINE OF THE WEEK: Heavenly Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Côtes de Gascogne

Jan 21, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Heavenly Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Côtes de Gascogne

£5.99, Wine Rack and Bargain Booze I wasn’t planning to wax lyrical about a Sauvignon Blanc this week. I’d been thinking along the lines of big, chunky reds to go with robust, warming casseroles, but this Sauvignon came along and it has such revitalising elderflower, passion fruit and pink grapefruit flavour that I can’t resist choosing it. Plus, it’s a bargain! It’s from the gentle, rolling Gascon hills in south west France, a haven of ultra-light, fresh whites, but because

Festive White Wines

Dec 17, 2015

Festive White Wines

Whites to keep the show on the road this Christmas and New Year Wines listed in ascending order of price. I've given a UK stockist for each, but you can find other stockists in the UK and other countries on wine-searcher.com Tesco *finest Saint Mont 2014, France Mouthwatering, tangy lime and quince flavours. A brilliant, snappy fresh alternative to Sauvignon Blanc made from local grape varieties – mainly Gros Manseng – in Saint Mont, south west France. £5.50, Tesco Cimarosa M