By Fergal Gleeson*
Yealands Estate Single Vineyard
Sauvignon Blanc Awatere Valley 2015

This Sauvignon Blanc is so heavily perfumed it brought to mind arty black and white Calvin Klein after shave ads.

You know the ones where a musky, Mediterranean male with a mono brow stumbles through a landscape confused by life before wrestling with his heroine in the closing scene.

Yealands is a high achiever in the New Zealand wine scene and they are not short of ambition. They make a wide range of varieties from the usual NZ suspects to Tempranillos, Gruner Veltiners and Gewürztraminers. The winery is carbon neutral.

I’ve tried the very solid Peter Yealands Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris which sell at an affordable price point of $13.

But back to the aromas, this slightly grander Estate Sauvignon Blanc carries a cacophony of tropical smells. Just close your eyes and you could be in a 5 star resort in Denarau, Fiji. Pale gold in colour, it has won an impressive collection of trophies and gold medals from international wine shows.

There was a surprising contrast between the perfume of the aromas and the restraint in the flavours  which ran from chalky, dry through to citrus.

While it’s made in a crowd pleasing style unlike say Dog Point Section 94 which is more purist, it is still dry enough to satisfy a dry old wine critic.  This a very good effort, even more so when you consider the price.

Rating: 3.5/5. RRP $22. For more Wine Reviews read and follow www.greatwineblog.wordpress.com  Drink and be merry!

*Finalist New Wine Writer of the Year 2016- WCA Gourmet Traveller WINE