With many wines reaching 13% to 14% alcohol, there's a move by some winemakers, admittedly with varying success, to produce wines of around 9% without sacrificing flavour. This is, however, still about twice the alcohol of beer.
BEST VALUE
$19
Four stars (out of five)
Good value
Fragrant and oozing lovely, bright passionfruit with a suggestion of nuts and caramel, this is intense and mouth-filling, with a fine structure and lingering aftertaste.
$27
Three and a half stars
Below average value
This has a light fragrance with hints of flowers, herbs and green fruit, bright hints of passionfruit and a simple, crisp finish. At 9% it's one of the lower-alcohol sauvignons and is often on special.
$20
Three and a half stars
Average value
Light aromas but lots of fruit flavours - ripe apple, passionfruit, mango, pear, and a lively, crisp, but well-balanced finish.
$21
Three and a half stars
Average value
Fragrant with sweet fruit hinting of mint and passionfruit, intense, with a crisp, assertive finish. Good value on special at $14.
$20
Three and a half stars
Average value
With aromas of passionfruit, grass and petrichor (raindrops on hot stones), this fresh, tight young wine hints of sweet gooseberries and mineral and finishes with a lively, assertive acidity.
$21
Four and a half stars
Good value
This leaps out of the glass, pungent and aromatic with hints of gooseberries and raindrops on hot stones.
It's mouth-filling with lots of fruit intensity and a bright, lively textural finish. It's so well balanced, it invites another glass - something I find rare among sauvignons.
ANOTHER GLASS
Te Mania Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2012
$19
Three stars
Below average value
A lively wine in the mineral and gooseberry spectrum, with a crisp, assertive acidity.
Invivo Bella Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012
$19.95
Two and a half stars
Below average value
One of the low alcohol (9%) sauvignons, but although there are hints of mineral, grass and perhaps tropical fruit, the texture is soft, and it's light and somewhat dilute in flavour.
