Best New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc?

Going to visit an old friend next month. His wife has a particular preference for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. They usually stick with moderately priced bottles.

I’d like to bring her a very top wine from that region, something a little beyond what they can usually afford.

I know very little about new world wine in general, and essentially nothing about New Zealand wine.

Are there NZ Sauv Blancs that age for 20 years? Are there wines that get up to $200+? Or just something special + hard to find is great too, even if it’s not expensive or old. Sorry if these are silly questions, I’m literally starting from zero on this one.

I’m in NYC, so can source most anything with a little effort. Thanks in advance.

I have never heard of a NZ Sauvignon Blanc approaching $200 or even $100 for that matter. Perhaps others with a wider market selection or those that have visiting NZ will be able to provide you with something along those lines. However, I will say that I think Greywacke Wild Sauvignon Blanc and Dog Point SB are two I enjoy, but they are mid to upper $20s. You can probably find some oaked versions that will approach $50, but otherwise it is probably a very special limited bottling. You might also consider getting them a great NZ Pinot Noir. There are some that will approach the $100 mark, but many that are in the $50 range which are fantastic. Escarpment and Valli are two producers which are always solid and Felton Road gets tons of great pub (though I have not had it).

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Agree that Grewacke and Dog Point are worth trying, add Cloudy Bay. I’ve never heard of a top end NZ SB meant for aging.

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It’s going to be a tough find. Speaking of tough finds, try to find one from Martinborough or Hawke’s Bay. Almost everything here is from Marlborough. But if you can find one, it might be a different treat.

How about a non NZ Sauvignon Blanc like Vatan? Which is special and age worthy

I’d go with Cloudy Bay, which has the advantage that its well known, so if they decide they really love it and want to find it later on, its available.

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Or maybe an older Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume. Might spoil her for life.

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Thanks all. She actually really loves NZ Sauv Blanc. She’s tried the Loire (and lots of other stuff too- she worked in fine dining for years) and legitimately prefers NZ.

I’m gonna bring her an aged Boulay too. But also really do want to bring her the best NZ I can find.

I second the recommendations of Greywacke (the “regular”) and Dog Point. While in NZ every year (I make wine there), I search out and try many of the best
and those two are always in the running and are widely available here in the US.

Cloudy Bay is good - though not as consistently as good, and is more expensive.

Hate to tell you-all, the wines age well, too.

Peter Rosback

Sineann

went to new zealand years ago and visited Marlborough…some of the stand outs were:

huia
dog point
cloudy bay (was surprised with their sparkling wine)
craggy range

I’ve only ever tried Cloudy Bay and Doug Point Section 94.

But what about Rippon? Has anybody tried their SB? Their Mature Vine PN is pretty good so maybe their good work also shows through in their SB.

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We go through a lot of Sauv Blanc. Some favorites:
Huia
Framingham
Greywacke
Dog Point

Cloudy Bay has a low-volume SB bottling that might be more in line with OP’s specific interest: Te Koko. It’s a late release (2-3 yrs bottle age?), $50-60. I’ve had it twice and enjoyed it. There’s no doubt it’s NZ SB, but the crisp acid is dialed back a bit with a touch of creaminess and more complexity.
IIRC- it’s age worthy.

I agree with Dog Point & Cloudy Bay. Craggy Range also has pretty good sauv blancs from Marlborough & Martinborough. Higher-end sauvignon blancs from NZ, I’m not aware of any.

Go for Cloudy Bay, when I was there a few years back, they opened a 10-year-old, it actually aged surprisingly well, obviously the fruit evolved, rounder mouth feel etc.

One other direction to consider – if she likes NZ sauv blanc she might like some South African ones. While South Africa has a broader variety of styles than they used to, in the early days I used to find SA and NZ to be quite similar. I am a bit out of the loop on what might be good to try, but I think you can find higher priced ones than those from NZ. I love NZ sauv blanc and find it hard to spend over 25 a bottle – in fact recently found one for about 14 a bottle that I really love and will age for a bit I suspect (Babich Black Label).

Well, FWIW one of the best whites I’ve ever had was a glass of 2006 Tinpot Hut Sauvignon Blanc, come across by chance in a London resto in 2007. Just extraordinary. At the time, it wasn’t imported into the US, so I’d guess it’s not so easy to come across over here. If it’s still good, or other vintages are comparable, IDK.



Have you guys been to Wine-Searcher recently?

It sure ain’t the 1990s anymore, that’s for dadgum certain.

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/clos+la+neore

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pur+sang

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/didier+silex

There are some Reserve Savvys like Cloudy Bay Te Koko and Dog Point Section 94 that tend to be barrel aged, but they are not for everyone.

I had a Craggy Range SV chardonnay the last week, also very good.

Cloudy Bay can age really well. And it’s certainly not fashionable, but the Single Vineyard Villa Maria’s can be excellent.