A NZ SB from TJs that Checks all the Boxes – at $5.99 no less!

Fast facts:

• 2020 Nikau Point Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand ($5.99 @Trader Joe’s,  California)

Tasting Notes:

The wine pours a nice straw-yellow color. It is wonderfully crisp and balanced. The flavors set a tropical tone with notes of gooseberry and passion fruit, alongside citrus flavors of grapefruit. It is ready for almost any kind of seafood pairing or with soft cheeses. 

 

We talk frequently about the “clues” we look for when we think a wine find might be something special. Here were several things that attracted me to this one:

1. First and foremost, the “Estate Bottled” designation on the front label. Unlike the meaningless term Reserve, Estate Bottled actually means something, and steers one towards better wines more often than not.  Since it means that the wine must be bottled on the premises of the winery, it steers you away from more, shall we say, generic bottlings.
2. The 2020 vintage is also noteworthy, and appealing.  Keep in mind that since the grapes for this wine were harvested in the Southern Hemisphere, they were some six months ahead of what we Americans think of as harvest time. What was fruit some 6-8 months ago is now wine. Sauvingnon Blanc is best enjoyed young (and rarely spends time resting in oak casks) thus they don’t get much younger than this. Simply put – this is the fresh stuff.
3. Marlborough, New Zealand.  The wines from here are distinctive, and delicious. It is not too much of a stretch to say that Sauvignon Blanc from here tastes unlike any others in the world, ask my girlfriend Kim Crawford.
4. Last but certainly not least – the $5.99 price. Checking the aforementioned three boxes at this price is nuts!  I was prepared to be disapointed, but I most certainly wasn’t. This wine is delicious.

Although New Zealand produces only about 1% of the world’s wine, it’s renowned globally for its Sauvignon Blancs. The Marlborough region in the northeast of the South Island is responsible for about 90% of New Zealand’s supply, and renowned globally for the quality of its wines.

I would go so far to say that this is easily the best Sauvignon Blanc value at Trader Joe’s. Stock up if you see it at your local TJs.

And if your weekend preparations find you shopping at your local TJ’s, keep an eye out for our Lucky 13 list of TJ’s wine. It’s a shopping list comprised of our most recent reviews.

If you’re headed to Costco soon, you can find our most recent reviews of Costco wines here in our Lucky 13 list of Costco wine finds.

Cheers!