• About Me – Andrew Graham
  • Scoring
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy + Disclaimer
  • Beer

  • About Me – Andrew Graham
  • Scoring
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy + Disclaimer
  • Beer

Drift Sauvignon Blanc 2009

March 19, 2010

Drift Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Marlborough, NZ)
$17, Screwcap, 12.5%
Source:Someone else’s bottle, I just had a snifter

It may sound surprising (to somebody) but I don’t think that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is that evil. Or at least the good stuff isn’t evil. In it’s authentic form it’s a highly aromatic, vibrant white wine that is super intense, varietal and refreshingly crisp. On a warm evening, good Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is far from evil, it’s drinkable.

But the problem with Marlborough Savvy, and most ANZ Sauv Blancs for that matter, lies not with the authentic form, but with the boring/poor iterations of it. I’m talking of the hundreds of own-label, sweet & ordinary Savvies out there that are created not to be good drinks, but rather to be serviceable, if soulless products.

The sad fact perhaps is that I myself have peddled such drinks, so I can’t say I am entirely clean in this whole savalanche debacle either.

Anyway, the inspiration for this babble is the Drift Sauvignon Blanc in my glass. In truth it doesn’t really deserve to be a negative conversation starter, because it’s not terrible, yet it is average enough to have you questioning who made it. That process then leads you to the back label winery address – which is listed as Tanunda, South Australia – which only serves to reinforce exactly why it is so ordinary.

Quite yellow in colour given it’s youth, the wine itself has a quite attractive nose of lifted, varietally correct, passionfruit and nettles, herbaceousness meets ripeness fruit. Lots to like on the nose actually.

In fact, the wheels don’t even look wobbly until later in the piece, with a palate that starts off ripe and full and perfectly ok, with a crisp, sweet edged passionfruit juice entry and sufficient acidity. But after that things get cheap, with a finish that is sugary, blunt, spiky and cheap, with a cask wine like like, 10 tonne to the acre, strung out finish and aftertaste that literally leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

In the end, it’s probably 7 or 8 tenths of a good wine, but that doesn’t really help when the remainder is plain ordinary. 15.0/83

(I use inklpay in lieu of a paywall. A small tip goes a long way to finally paying for hosting!)

Related Posts:

  • Drift Pinot Gris 2013
  • Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2014
  • On selling out and well made Sauv: Stoneleigh Sauvignon…
  • Fine Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc…

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Reddit
  • Print
2009MarlboroughSauvignon BlancWine
Share

Wine

Comment


Andrew Graham
March 20, 2010 at 8:48 AM
Reply

Blue Gold medal winner at the 2010 Sydney International Wine Show (which means it was judged to be a goodun with food).

I didn't go to this years presentation tasting for the Syd Int. Wine Show (normally it's a great tasting), which is a pity as it would have been v. interesting to see this in the lineup with similar wines…



Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Subscribe by email

    Enter your email address:

  • About me – Andrew Graham


    At 18 I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, doing a degree that I didn't really like, and a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say I discovered wine, my uni degree morphed into something completely different and wine/beer took over my life.

    Almost twenty years later and I currently spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.

    While wearing my writer cap I write features for the likes of National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS plus I'm a Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here.

  • Recent Comments

    • Nina Javez on The drinking thread: 30 smashable Australian wines (for $30 or less) I’d drink on a hot January night
    • Andrew Graham on Almost Club January 2019 edition: A bumper new year of almostness inc. a $500 red
    • Colin Rose on Almost Club January 2019 edition: A bumper new year of almostness inc. a $500 red
    • Andrew Graham on Almost Club January 2019 edition: A bumper new year of almostness inc. a $500 red
    • Simon Colwell on Almost Club January 2019 edition: A bumper new year of almostness inc. a $500 red
  • Categories

    • Beer
    • Wine
  • Archives

  • Tags

    2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Adelaide Hills Barossa Beer Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot + Blends Canberra Chardonnay Clare Valley Coonawarra Eden Valley Great Southern Grenache Shiraz + Blends Hunter Margaret River Marlborough McLaren Vale Mega Tasting Mornington Peninsula Pinot Gris Pinot Noir Pyrenees Riesling Rosé Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Shiraz Sparkling Tasmania Top Wine Value pick Wine Wine Yarra Valley



© Copyright Andrew Graham 2018

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.