Fast Facts:
- 2019 Duck Hunter Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand ($9.99* @Costco in California – Item #1336236)
As I have admitted here freely, no small amount of NZ SB (Marlborough in particular) is consumed in my house. So I’ve come to be pretty adept at what a Sauvignon Blanc from this area typically tastes like. But this one is different. In place of wines that are very tart, very acidic and sharp (all good things in my book) this one’s a little softer, a little rounder and a little bit more…elegant. If I tasted it blind, I might be reluctant to proclaim it as from New Zealand. It tastes like it could be from California. Still, it’s a very nice wine, especially for its current $9.99 price.
Sauvignon Blanc is the grape that put the Kiwis on the world wine map in the 1980s. It is the country’s largest planted variety at +/- 50,000 acres. The wines here are distinctive. It is not too much of a stretch to say that the Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand taste like no others in the world. A combination of a cool yet sunny climate, low rainfall and free-draining, moderately fertile soil produces uniquely vivid wines. And perhaps no region within New Zealand produces better Sauvignon Blanc than Marlborough, the biggest of the country’s wine regions.
This particular wine has me wondering if there are rogue winemakers “down under” that are bucking tradition and trying to make a more “global” style of Sauvignon Blanc. After all, that is how wines like Super Tuscans get born. Some young bucks take exception to doing it the way that Dad – and grandpapa – made their wines and start asserting themselves. Think of it as evolution. This is a good thing.
Like California, the vineyards in the Marlborough region are arid, and the best wines are made from irrigated vineyards. Sauvignon Blanc is Marlborough’s best known – and best loved – variety with its trademark flavors of tropical fruits, gooseberry and herbaceousness. Some refer to it as the country’s national wine style.
Tasting notes:
Pours a nice golden straw color. Nose has dry grass, lemon, tropical fruits and orange blossom. Classic dryness and tart acidity, but not as tart as some. Nicely balanced with flavors of tropical fruits, peaches and melon.
This wine would pair well with shellfish, sushi, cheeses and pastas with white sauces, all of which you can also find at Costco!
If you’re headed to Costco soon yourself, you can find our most recent reviews of Costco wines here in our Lucky 13 list.
And if your shopping finds you at Trader Joe’s, you can find our Lucky 13 list of TJ’s wine here.
Cheers!