WHITEHAVEN SAUVIGNON BLANC 2007

New Zealand wine has an excellent reputation world wide, and is especially know for pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. As of 2005, New Zealand was the 24th highest producer of wine, having bottled 120,000 metric tonnes. (Canada ranked 32nd with 50,400 tonnes, behind countries such as Japan, Mexico, and Moldova.) New Zealand's cool climate is similar to that of France's Bourgogne region, which is ideal for growing pinot. I wonder whether a New Zealand chardonnay would have the same minerality of Chablis...

But I digress. The 2007 Whitehaven sauvignon blanc shows celery, grapefruit, and fresh cut grass on the nose. The citrus is undeniable. On the palate, I detect lots of green fruit, such as kiwi fruit, key lime, granny smith apples. It has a mouth-watering acidity and a long finish. Though sauvignon blanc is not my most favourite wine I definitely look forward to enjoying a bottle of Whitehaven again.

CARMEN VALLE DE CURICO SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will recall that every Christmas Eve my family sits down to a delicious crab dinner. This year my dear old dad selected Carmen Valle de Curicó Sauvignon Blanc to accompany this magnificent feast. This was a delicious wine that complemented the crab beautifully. The body was very smooth and rounded, with well balanced citrus notes. It would easily stand up alone as a sipping wine with strong notes of grapefruit and hints of pineapple. The long finish was very pleasurable; I was sad to see the empty bottle.

PENINSULA RIDGE 2006 FUME BLANC

The second of two bottles we picked up from Peninsula Ridge Estate Winery. This one was even better than I remembered it being at the tasting bar. It reminded me a lot of the Malivoire Chardonnay I tried a couple of months back - lots of honey, vanilla, apricot, and citrus. It was silky smooth and absolutely delicious. Niagara's whites absolutely shine!

Until now I had no idea that Fume Blanc is actually Sauvignon Blanc. Apparently, the term Fume Blanc was made popular by Robert Mondavi when he began producing a dry Sauvignon Blanc that was different to the sweeter SBs that he had previously produced. I always thought it was just another type of grape.

My parents are coming to visit in a couple of weeks, and we are hoping to take another trip to the Niagara Peninsula region. I'm not sure which wineries we will visit this time. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

SANTA RITA 120 SAUVIGNON BLANC 2007

Today's selection is an excellent value wine that came recommended from a few wine reviews I have recently read. It is another Chilean white, this time from Santa Rita, "one of Chile's most admired and innovative whine estates" (according to the label).

Julia thought the bouquet smelled of peaches and apples. I found hints of these flavours, as well as celery and lemon. Goes well with fish, fresh fruit or a light dessert. Overall we agreed that it was a very complex and delicious Sauvignon Blanc. At $9.99, Santa Rita 120 is an excellent value.

Score: 89
BCL SKU #275586 / UPC #00089419007091