The cooler Awatere Valley is producing someof Marlborough’s most distinctive Sauvignons at the moment, lighter and fresher in style than those of the neighbouring Wairau Valley. This is a very elgant Kiwi number, which wouldn’t look out of place in the Loire, with tangy elderflower and citrsu fruit notes and a fine, stony finish. Very poised, very self-assured.
White Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Northern Whites: wine in a cold climate
by Matt Walls
Inspiration can come in many forms. For Anders Selmer, his lightbulb moment was at a café in Copenhagen, and it was shaped like a turnip: “I was served a turnip...
2011 Blind River Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £9.99, 13%, Majestic )There’s so much mediocre Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc around (bland, sweet, overcropped and sometimes all three) that it’s a pleasure to recommend one that has real personality. This comes from the cooler Awatere Valley and is beautifuly taut and refined: a focused, almost minerally white with one foot in the Loire Valley, stylistically speaking. Fresh, crisp and tangy with notes of elderflower, wet stones and kiwi fruit, it lingers tantalisingly on the palate.
Argentina’s Malbec obsession
by Tim Atkin
Is Argentina too dependent on Malbec? The question might seem absurd – few countries have managed to associate themselves so successfully with a single grape – but it’s beginning to...
2011 Auzells, Costers del Segre, Catalonia
( £9.95, 13%, The Wine Society )Made from no fewer than eight varieties (with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Muscat among them), this is an intriguing nothern Spanish white that combines perfume with fruit intensity. Grapey, fresh and lime-scented, it’s a focused, floral dry white with a hint of bitterness on the finish.
Should Bordeaux en primeur take a holiday?
by Tim Atkin
Nothing divides opinions quite like Bordeaux en primeur. If you’ve spent the last few weeks in the Australian outback, without access to a mobile phone or the internet, you might...
Robert Parker, Nigel Tufnel and the 2009 Bordeaux
by Tim Atkin
There’s a famous moment in This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner’s spoof “rockumentary” about an ageing English heavy metal band, when the lead guitarist, Nigel Tufnel, is showing off his...
Argentina: full speed ahead?
by Tim Atkin
The recent arrival of HMS Dauntless in the south Atlantic, complete with Prince William in his role as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, hasn’t done much for Anglo-Argentine relations....
Twelve Christmas wines under £10
by Tim Atkin
Bearing in mind that most of us are broke at this time of year, I’ve decided to keep things simple and affordable this Christmas, restricting my choices to just a...
The pick of Waitrose’s wine range
by Tim Atkin
RED 2010 Saumur, Les Nivières (£7.49, 13%) Essence of Loire Cabernet Franc, this unoaked red is a delight: soft and grassy with fresh acidity, no oak and pure blackcurrant and...
My pick of Sainsbury’s 25% off wine deal
by Tim Atkin
Sainsbury’s is offering a 25% discount on six bottles of wine until midnight on 1st November, both online and in store. This includes fine wines, Ports and Champagnes. There is...
2008 AA Badenhorst Family White, Swartland
( £24, 14.5%, Swig )After an impressive tenure at Rustenburg, Adi Badenhorst is doing some really exciting things at his new project in the Swartland. This fruit salad white blend of mostly Chenin Blanc with Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc is a stunner. There’s a sheen of French oak, but what distinguishes the wine is its fruit depth and complexity: perfumed and blossom-scented with notes of honey, ginger spice, fresh apples, peach and a crunchy, refreshing finish. A producer to watch, given his track record.