Sauvignon Blanc can be good value at around $18-$20. For this, you mostly get a lively wine with bright fruit and crisp finish.
Sometimes there's a bit of sweetness to balance the acidity and sometimes, especially from outside Marlborough, sauvignons are softer and less assertive.
Dashwood Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (about $18) is fragrant with luscious hints of passionfruit and ripe tropical fruit, with a hint of mineral and a crisp finish. A typically delicious Marlborough sauvignon blanc.
4 stars (out of 5).
Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (about $17) is another good-value wine, slightly pungent with hints of raw quince, golden queen peaches and a bright, crisp finish.
3 1/2 stars (out of 5).
Mudhouse Haymaker Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (about $17). Mudhouse made the regular
Mudhouse sauvignon (about $20 ***1/2), the flagship
Swan (about $25 ****), and this great value
Haymaker with hints of passionfruit and an attractive, dry aftertaste.
3 1/2 stars (out of 5).
Churton Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (about $23) is fragrant with bright fruit but also has more texture and developing complexity than many simpler Marlborough sauvignons. Less assertive and dry, it's good with food.
3 1/2 stars (out of 5).
Mills Reef Reserve Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (about $21) is pungent with hints of herbs and tropical fruit - guava and mango, a lovely lift on the palate and a delicious lingering aftertaste.
4 stars (out of 5).
Coal Pit Cinquante Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (about $18). Completely different in style, this sauvignon from Coal Pit Rd in Gibbston is soft with hints of tinned peas, guava and tropical fruit, a suggestion of mineral and a lifted but not assertive finish. Good with food.
3 1/2 stars (out of 5).
