Yealands Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand is advertised as having a bright character, with a notes of stone fruit and guava, underlined by tropical flavours and a long, clean mineral finish.
This wine is created using grapes from the Awatere and Wairau Valley vineyards. Over a period of eighteen days, the fruit is harvested, destemmed, gently pressed at the winery and then the juice is allowed to cold settle for 72 hours. The clarified juice undergoes a long cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks, helping to capture and enhance the fruitiness. Different yeasts are used to ferment each of the individual parcels separately, optimising varietal characteristics. Prior to bottling, the wine is blended, stabilised and filtered.
Yealands is a reminder of what New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was like in the 1990s, from brands such as Villa Maria and Montana (now Brancott Estate). Some brands have moved towards mass production leading to wines that, I personally think, are somewhat diminished from their former glory. Yealands, however, manages to retain the refreshing, flavours of gooseberry, passion fruit and grass that were a hallmark of that era.
The wine is suitable for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free diets. It can usually be found in Iceland, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Majestic and Tesco for £7 to £10. Despite the significant increase in cost for all New Zealand Sauvignon’s over recent years, this particular wine offers excellent value, especially when purchased during 25% off promotions. If you are not buying on promotion, Majestic or Iceland are usually the cheapest.
