I seem to have a bit of a Sauvignon Blanc season of late. June, July and now August have all had their turn. The first two were from France and I made a reference in each to New Zealand, so this month let's go all antipodean.
Week Y (2015) Yealands Estate, Single Block Series S1 Sauvignon Blanc. 2014. M&S £14.
This is the most expensive of the three and is very fresh and intensely flavoured. It has bags of grapefruit, elderflower and gooseberry, plus a herbal kick that all go together to make a very big statement.
My primary school teaching daughter would certainly approve of this one.
It comes from New Zealand's most famous Sauvignon Blanc region of Marlborough and more specifically the Awatere Valley. More specifically than that it is made from grapes grown in Yealands Estate's Seaview Vineyard and, finally (I promise) the most specifically of all, they all come from a single block of vines known, imaginatively, as S1.
S1, I have read, is a sheltered block, furthest from the sea in the vineyard and facing North so that it gets the best of the sunlight. Don't forget we are all upside down, being in New Zealand, so the sun is in the wrong place.
It is quite alcoholic at 13.5%, but easily sufficiently acidic for it not to feel too 'hot' for the style of wine.
We drank it with a roast chicken accompanied by home grown potatoes, beans and carrots, (isn't The One a clever little green-fingered thingy?), although it would have paired very well with something a little more exotic.
As I may have mentioned to myself previously, the purpose of my game is for me to try new things, however, sometimes it is good to be reminded that there are wines that are popular for good reason.
This is the most expensive of the three and is very fresh and intensely flavoured. It has bags of grapefruit, elderflower and gooseberry, plus a herbal kick that all go together to make a very big statement.
My primary school teaching daughter would certainly approve of this one.
It comes from New Zealand's most famous Sauvignon Blanc region of Marlborough and more specifically the Awatere Valley. More specifically than that it is made from grapes grown in Yealands Estate's Seaview Vineyard and, finally (I promise) the most specifically of all, they all come from a single block of vines known, imaginatively, as S1.
S1, I have read, is a sheltered block, furthest from the sea in the vineyard and facing North so that it gets the best of the sunlight. Don't forget we are all upside down, being in New Zealand, so the sun is in the wrong place.
It is quite alcoholic at 13.5%, but easily sufficiently acidic for it not to feel too 'hot' for the style of wine.
We drank it with a roast chicken accompanied by home grown potatoes, beans and carrots, (isn't The One a clever little green-fingered thingy?), although it would have paired very well with something a little more exotic.
As I may have mentioned to myself previously, the purpose of my game is for me to try new things, however, sometimes it is good to be reminded that there are wines that are popular for good reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment