WEEKEND WINE PICKS
Viña Chocalán Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2021, Valle del Maipo, Region del Valle Central, Chile $18.99 I 88/100
UPC: 7804603661223
The price alone sets the wine off in the right direction. Maipo Valley is the home of this clean, bright, correctly made Sauvignon fermented in stainless steel. The finished wine sits on its lees until bottling, where it gains a little extra texture and weight. Instead, expect a grassy citrus grapefruit nose and palate with lemon peel and passion fruit bits on the palate. Prawns, fresh goat cheese or a pasta vegetable dish all work here. Good value.
Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Marlborough, New Zealand $25.99 I 89/100
UPC: 9421008350033
Spy Valley is a family-owned 400-acre winery that sits on the sunny southern side of Marlborough's Wairau Valley. The fruit is picked early in the morning, processed in small batches, and fermented primarily in stainless steel. Much crisper than last year, with floral, grapefruit, white peach, intense passion fruit, sweet lime and nectarine with a mineral finish. Mussels, anyone?
French Door Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Okanagan Valley $30 I 90/100
UPC: 696852078467 French Door Sauvignon Blanc comes out of Oliver in the southern Okanagan Valley. The latest edition features more picks, less oak and a lesser amount of acid-flattening malolactic fermentation. The fruit is hand-harvested over three picking dates, balancing the green and ripe fruit flavours to perfection. When picked, the grapes are pressed directly into a 50/50 mix of stainless steel and neutral French oak barrels, searching for balance. As a result, the complexity gets a hand from three different yeasts. At the same time, only half of the juice goes through malolactic fermentation — a balancing act to stay fresh yet be rich enough to entice the palate. The result is a terrific bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with ripe weighty grapefruit notes held in line by a beautiful green guava undercurrent. It was made for the rich dishes of summer, grilled salmon, quail or mushroom pasta.
Mission Hill Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Okanagan Valley $24.99 I 89/100
UPC: 776545995209
Chief winemaker Corrie Kreibehl called the 2021 growing season one of the most challenging in their 40-year history. Extreme heat and climate conditions brought highly concentrated berries but reduced yields, leaving a high-quality vintage with wines available in minimal quantities. It is also the first vintage of Mission Hill's Legacy, Terroir and the Reserve wines, produced organically and certified through Ecocert, the world's leading certifier of sustainable practices. The Reserve Sauvignon Blanc has been a consistent performer at Mission Hill. The attack is fresh and vibrant, the palate awash in crisp citrus and lemon grass notes with bits of grapefruit and gooseberry in the finish. It's a complex offering at a modest price. Notably, 21 per cent of the wine spends time in French oak barrels, stainless barrels, foudres and concrete eggs before mixing with its stainless-steel-fermented counterpart.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre 2020, Sancerre, Loire, France $47.99 I 91/100
UPC: 3458965723910 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre is a biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc grown over calcareous, flint soils. The nose is an intoxicating mix of white and yellow flowers. The palate is light and lively, with green fruit, mineral, chalky notes and a fine thread of complexing lees. A big-time winner with aging possibilities, long, electric and persistent. Perfect for adorned seafood dishes.