The Rich Range of Sauvignon Blanc Expressions in New Zealand Is Underrated
- andychalk
- May 20
- 3 min read
by Andrew Chalk
On the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) Level 3 blind tasting exam, it is quite likely the white wine to be tasted is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The island country sits alone in the South Pacific Ocean and has developed its wine industry with a singular cast of mind. Sauvignon Blanc is widely grown and, in stereotypical parlance, produces wines of vibrant acidity, citable citrus fruits, and herbaceous aromatic notes.
This Occum’s Razor will not just pin down the Kiwi wine, but separate it out of flights of Sauvignon Blanc from other signature sites such as its home of France, its adopted homes from British Columbia down to Patagonia in the Americas, and antipodean fellow occupant, Australia.
However, the singleness of character, and clarity of oenological purpose that produce an easy answer on a parlor quiz can actually elide facets of single producer individualism, long-established family vineyard familiarity, and openness to innovation that produces wines that, tasted against each other, have their own DNA.
Twice in my wine tasting life did a wine representative make this clear to me.
Once was over a decade ago, at a Dallas restaurant that no longer exists. The winery that invited me to that tasting to taste their wines, Astrolabe, certainly does. They are Sauvignon Blancs fanatics, and important for everyone into wine to know.
The second was a few weeks ago when affable wholesaler John Gorman, co-founder of the excellent Southern Starz, brought his selection of New Zealand wines to town, hoping to convince Dallas to buy them. He left me with three that, individually, are top tier and, as a flight, a lasting impression. All Sauvignon Blanc, all from the Marlborough region (the most famous wine growing region in New Zealand) at the southern tip of the north island.
Mount Fishtail, 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, ‘Sur Lie’, Marlborough, New Zealand
I opened all at the same time and sipped a little of each, every night for most of a week. It coincided with a week when I was reminding myself how to make the daughter sauces of Bechamel and so I prepared a different meal each night to go with soubise, cresson, or crème. And the sauvignons showed how versatile they were in working in so many ways. These wines are easy to drink.
One night was sous vide salmon and air-fried asparagus with sauce bechamel. Another, roasted rock cornish game hen with steamed cauliflower and sauce soubise. Then air-fried pork loin with sauce cresson. Each time, three glasses offered an entry into the Sauvignon Blanc grape and Marlborough vineyards.
Earthsong was the most fruity with meyer lemon, lime, mango and guava on the palate. It seemed to be slightly lower acid than the other two. It married best with the rich bechamel-coated salmon.
MIHA has a fascinating backstory (see video below) from its Maori name meaning being on the ‘humpback highway’ of migratory whales. The wine is, in a complementary sense, the most typical New Zealand sauvignon blanc of the three. Its searing line of acid refuses to be suppressed by rich food. Its body has the gravitas to carry roasted game hen without a qualm.
Mount Fishtail has a lash of salinity on the palate. I loved it with the pork loin and my sauce cresson which was made, unconventionally, with italian parsley rather than watercress (I call it ‘street cresson’ and would serve it at my crack house if it had not been raided the previous week).
Overall, a flight of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs destined to create converts. Look out for these wines and ask your local wine merchant if they can get them if they are not in stock.
Comments