Pale straw with green highlights. Aroma: Powerful gooseberry, white currant, red capsicum, passionfruit and lime peel aromas. Medium to full-bodied with strong gooseberry, passionfruit and currant flavours, a hint of freshly-cut red capsicum, and a refreshingly smooth lingering and crisp finish. Summer salads, Thai noodles, seafood and, especially, green-lipped mussel dishes.

Astrolabe earns my vote for being New Zealand’s leading Sauvignon Blanc maker. This is the best of four Sauvignon Blanc labels that include two wines from Kekerengu which is on the coast half way between Blenheim and Kaikoura. This is an intensely flavoured wine with the classic Awatere characters of tomato leaf, green capsicum, nettle, mineral and gooseberry. Assertive Sauvignon Blanc with character and class. 95 Point; Bob Campbell MW

Pale straw with lime green hues. Punchy lifted aromatics of lemon blossom, blackcurrant and papaya with subtle hints of fresh thyme and cordite. Medium to full fl avoured with a fine texture. Limes, apples, lychee and honeydew melon characterise the fruit fl avours which are framed by juicy acidity, providing great length of flavour. The lion’s share of the fruit came from the cooler southern half of the region, including our Chapman Brook Vineyard along with our other estate and selected contract vineyards. Various canopy management methods are used, with the objective being to maximise fruit fl avour development. The typical soils of these vineyards are geologically ancient, free draining sandy loams with a high percentage of lateritic gravel.

Bright quartz-green; this is the unwooded version of Cape Mentelle's sauvignon blanc semillon, but shows the fruit intensity and complexity that allows the (oaked) Wallcliffe version to succeed so well. Here there is a panoply of aromas and flavours spanning citrus/grapefruit, stone fruit and tropical fruits (whatever you care to mention) sustained by lovely natural acidity. Screwcap. Rating: 95 Points; $27.95; Drink by: 2017; Alc: 13%; James Halliday Wine Companion

I was going to open a bunch of Riesling last night but changed my mind and did a quick run through of  some v2011 Margaret River SBS blends. It’s not the first time that’s happened either. It lit up my palate and I loved it straight away. Lime, grapefruit, sugar snaps and passionfruit the main flavours on a palate that’s tight racy and flinty, with a juicy mouthwatering vibrancy and appropriately herbal finish of good length, sporting a grapefruity tweak on exit. A little nervy and skittish, yet approachable and highly drinkable. Terrific. Rated : 94 Points Tasted : Oct11 Alcohol : 13% Price : $27 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2011 - 2016 By Gary Walsh The Wine Front

Bright quartz-green; this is the unwooded version of Cape Mentelle's sauvignon blanc semillon, but shows the fruit intensity and complexity that allows the (oaked) Wallcliffe version to succeed so well. Here there is a panoply of aromas and flavours spanning citrus/grapefruit, stone fruit and tropical fruits (whatever you care to mention) sustained by lovely natural acidity. - Winemakers Magazine, Feb/Mar 2012

Perpetually discounted, this is one of the most refined SBS blends of the year, reflecting the cooler south of Margaret River and a touch of barrel ferment refinement. Rating: 94 Points; Wine100, December Edition; Tyson Stelzer

With all the focus on Cape Mentelle's big guns, it's easy to overlook how good they are with this standard Margaret River fare. This is beautiful. It's precise, fresh and crisp with a fine lingering palate packed with flavour intensity. Rating: 94 Points; The West Australian Wine Guide

The Marlborough region is blessed with a unique terroir where a cool, maritime South Pacific climate produces wines of great fruit intensity.

Widely regarded as the quintessential expression of the acclaimed Marlborough wine region, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is an international benchmark wine noted for its vibrant aromatics, layers of pure fruit flavours, and fine structure.

Meticulous viticulture combined with modern technology and traditional vinification methods, consistently produces a style that has become the reference for this remote southern wine region.

Scented and simmery, the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc has deliciously vibrant aromatics that infuse the tropical fragrance of fresh passionfruit and juicy pineapples with garden-fresh basil and the spiciness of crushed tomato leaves. The palate is long and succulent, combining exotic fruits with ripe, red capsicum and a twist of green olive – beautifully complemented by crisp natural acidity and a hint of lemon zest.

An alluring and exotic mix of mango and pineapple infused with herbal notes of thyme and sage fades to traces of fresh ginger and smoky oak. Seamlessly integrated after three years in the cellar, the full-bodied palate shows vibrant citrus flavours layered over a mealy, pistachio nuttiness, deftly finished by the merest influence of oak.

The sauvignon blanc grapes for this wine were sourced from two Cloudy Bay estate vineyards and two grower vineyards in the Fairhall and Central Wairau sub-regions. The soils are predominantly free draining gravels requiring irrigation.

The grapes were harvested in the cool of night to preserve fruit flavour and a mixture of whole bunches and de-stemmed fruit was loaded directly to tank presses. After settling for a period the juice was racked directly to French oak barrels (a low proportion of which were new), and allowed to undergo a slow spontaneous fermentation using indigenous yeast. The primary fermentation, which took until Christmas to complete, was followed by malolactic fermentation. The wine was subsequently left in barrel, on yeast lees until the end of October of the following year when it was racked, lightly fined for clarity, and bottled (under screwcap).

If you really love Marlborough sauvignon blanc, best give this a miss; there is no fountain of tropical fruits, but there is structure to an elegant, finely chiselled wine, with pea pod, grass and mineral notes filled out by partial barrel ferment and lees stirring. The finish is long and clean, with a nod to white Bordeaux. From Yarra Valley, Vic; Drink Now with Lemon-marinated fish; $19, Screwcap, 12% alc; 94 points & Halliday’s Top 100 Wines for 2010 – The Weekend Australian November 13-14, 2010

The 2009 – 2010 growing season saw our earliest start to the season to date. Timely rainfall received in early summer gave the vineyard some relief from a dry winter and spring. Conditions for ripening of Sauvignon Blanc were ideal with warm days and cool nights. Fruit was picked in optimal condition. Selected parcels of Sauvignon Blanc were chosen for this wine. Once the fruit had reached optimal maturity it was picked and taken to the winery for immediate pressing. Once the fruit was pressed, it was left for a short settling period (24-48 hrs). Once settled, it was racked to both stainless steel and older french oak casks for fermentation. Once completed, the wines were left on fine lees for months to increase texture, mouthfeel and ultimately complexity. They were then blended and stabilised for bottling

Very light straw colour with green highlights. Lifted citrus notes together with grassy characters. Also shows some background lees ageing complexities. Refreshing palate with subtle barrel influences. The fruit is balanced by a gentle acid backbone that leeds to a crisp & lingering finish.

One of the standouts of a great lineage of De Bortoli Sauvignon and more deeply mineral and intenseley textural than ever. Beautiful aromatics of bright grapefruit blossom; clean-cut lemon carry through the palate. 94 Points; Tyson Stelzer, Wine 100, August 2011

Light straw with a green edge. Subtle Sauvignon fruit. Some flinty, slate notes. A textured palate which shows fine, slatey flavours wound together with some balanced phenolics to give length and longevity.

The 2009 – 2010 growing season saw our earliest budburst for sometime. Timely rainfall in early summer gave the vineyard some relief from a dry winter and spring. Conditions for ripening were ideal with warm days and cool nights. The fruit was hand picked in the cool of the morning.

Fruit is selected from 4 distinct estate vineyards. The grapes are hand picked and whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract some good phenolics for texture and minerality. Once the fruit is pressed, it is allowed to settle overnight before roughly racking to older French oak casks for fermentation. No yeast is added. Some lees stirring is used, depending on each parcel.

Very fragrant gooseberry plus hints of apple and citrus on the bouquet; a long palate with great movement and delineation, the focus on pristine fruit, not barrel ferment oak. Drinking: To 2011 Rating:96 Points; James Halliday; Australian Wine Companion

This flagship De Bortoli sauvignon shows refined cool gooseberry fruits and fresh sliced cucumber aromas, gentle oak toast appears here too, and some smoky edges. The palate takes the same tack; fine tropical fruits are woven smoothly through gentle texture. Nicely balanced; a great effort. Drinking: Now Rating: 94 Points; Nick Stock Good Australian Wine Guide

Dog Point Vineyard is situated in the Wairau Valley, the major grape growing region of New Zealand. It combines the considerable wine growing experience of Ivan and Margaret Sutherland and James and Wendy Healy. The philosophy is total involvement by the partners from the vineyard through the wine making process to marketing regionally distinctive and vineyard expressive wines.

Bright straw green in colour. The bouquet displays a refreshingly intense concentration of citrus, tropical fruits and fragrant fresh summer herbs, underpinned by an appealing degree of minerality. In the mouth this is a generous full bodied wine displaying an excellent balance of fruit and acidity with a fine citrus infused finish, a portion of indigenous ferment adding depth and richness.

Food Match: Seafood - especially oysters, scallops and mussels, but also salads, white meats and mild cheeses. Cellaring: Ideally enjoyed young, but may be cellared for several years. James Healy / Ivan Sutherland, Dog Point Winemakers.

A bigger framed sauvignon with a rich, smoky mineral aroma and concentrated lemon and passion fruit flavours. Full bodied and dry, this has oodles of personality and presence. 4.5 stars Jane Skilton, Sunday Star Times

Straw green in colour. Bouquet of ripe citrus fruits with nuances of white blossom against concentrated yeast characters derived from extended contact with lees in old barrels.

The palate is complex and full-bodied with excellent balance enhanced by a degree of minerality and a chalky texture. Section 94 is made from Sauvignon Blanc grown in a specific area of the vineyard. The title Section 94 dates back to an early survey of Marlborough, and in particular the subdivision of the vast Hawkesbury Run which at that time encompassed an area of "6878 acres, 7 roods and 5 perches".

Wine from this vineyard shows distinctive yellow fruit influence, which together with extended lees contact in older oak barrels produces a wine with considerable texture and flavour. Section 94 is Sauvignon Blanc with a difference.

Four Sisters is named after Trevor Mast’s four daughters. This innovative label was originally created and designed by Trevor Mast’s eldest daughter, Daliah. The fruit selected for these wines are the finest available from preferred vineyard sites throughout Australia.

Golden straw. Herbaceous and spice. A provocative mixture of herbaceous, spicy fruit flavours whilst the finish is balanced with crisp, clean acidity. This is a huge brand at both retail level as well numerous eateries around town.

A really difficult but ultimately successful vintage. Following and unusually cool summer we had 57mm rain in February and then a massive 150mm rain in March just prior to harvest. The 77mm of rain from 20th to 24th of March was accompanied by still, mild, drizzly conditions which were perfect for botrytis infection in the grapes. Hand picking started on the 29th March and continued until 2nd April. Flavour maturity was early this year and harvest occurred at lower than normal sugars and higher than normal acid levels.

Lifted aroma of pear, gooseberry and hints of tropical fruits Fresh and complex. Nothing rank or overbearing. Pale straw with a light green tinge. Fresh fruit with a lively juicy zest on the palate and a lingering crisp acid edge to the finish. Lively and delicate.

Beating the weather demons during vintage and showing the overall cool-growing season in its delicate style - rather than the overt grassy plus passionfruit and tropical power lift in some versions - this wine is more about crunchy pear aromas, lemon sherbet flavours rising in the middle of the mouth, great balance and a beautifully dry, moreish finish. Crisp as an August morning. Vintage: 2011 Score: 4½ stars; Tony Love; Taste - Herald Sun

Pale yellow in colour with a sunshiney yellow rim. Bouquet shows lifted fresh and vibrant elements of ripe, sweet lemons and dried cut grass and herbs. Marvellously perfumed with sweet gooseberry, more sweet aromas of fresh green garden-like herbs, and a distinctive dry pineappley character. Fresh and vibrant ripe pip-fruit that unravel as the accommodatingly complex citrus flavours develop, a sliver of chalk to the texture, wide and tempestuous, juicy and succulent, punchy with satisfying fruit intensity. Charmingly laden with classic nettle and gooseberry flavours on the palate, combined with dry, puckery orchard citrus flavours, a focused acidity along the ample length and a refreshing zest to the finish.

With Giesens range of vineyard locations we get a considerable flavour profile which when blended provides a distinctive style that displays both ripe fruit and the crisper, green and lively components that are characteristic of Marlborough.

The juice is processed under anaerobic conditions and fermented cool in stainless steel tanks to preserve the fresh vibrant fruit inherent to Sauvignon Blanc.  The wine was blended, fined, stabilised then filtered before bottling under screwcap.

Another solid performance from Giesen’s staple sauvignon blanc. This has a heady mix of citrus, stone-fruit and fleshy tropical passionfruit aromas – bright and lifted. The palate delivers juicy, flavoursome impact, with a rolling, glossy texture. Hits the mark. 91 Points; Nick Stock

The '08 season produced fantastic fruit.  Bunches ripened slowly and completely, producing nicely concentrated berries.  To maximise flavour profiles and retain freshness, fruit was handled with care - beginning with hand picking in the hcilly morning hours.  Bunches were kept whole and enjoyed coool maceration in stainlesstanks.  The majority of the juice was cool fermented to preserve true varietal character and vineyard flavour.  The remaining 5% was racked directly to French oak for fermentation.  All wine enjoyed good time on the lees with regular stirring; contributing to palate texture, weight and mouth feel -simultaneously, balancing ripe fruit flavours and softening the natural acid.

Another vintage not with out it's challenges... Mike T, our trusty weatherman, has enabled us to escape unscathed!  And thank heavens, because this year's wine is a cracker!  Bright nose of tropical fruit and fresh citrus zest entices you from the get go.  The palate follows in good form with tart gooseberries, ripe white peach nad a hint of fresh grass. Just enough natural aid to keep you yearning for more.  In true Isabel fashion, this wine delivers concentrated flavour in an elegant package. 

These grapes were selected from a number of vineyards throughout the Marlborough region. Individual blocks were targeted for their strengths and overall contribution to the blend. The grapes were machine harvested in the cool of the evening and overnight to preserve flavours. Each block was kept separate throughout the various stages of the winemaking process. Fermentations were carried out at cool temperatures and when all tanks had completed ferment they were proportionately blended, fined, stabilised and bottled. All these factors have resulted in the plethora of fruit flavours, power and complexity of this stunning wine.

Pale green. A bouquet of citrus and tropical fruits backed by characteristic herbaceous notes that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is famous for. An exuberant wine brimming with flavours of pineapple and stonefruit with a hint of herbaceousness. The finish is fresh and zesty. Good to drink with anyone at anytime. Ideally suited for fresh oysters, asparagus dishes or summer salads.

This pale yellow colored Sauvignon Blanc was one of the best Sauvignon Blancs that I have covered so far this year. It opens with a moderate gooseberry bouquet with a hint of yellow grapefruit. On the palate, this wine is light bodied, balanced, and very quaffable. The flavor profile is a pleasant blend of mild grapefruit and gooseberry with a touch of minerality and lime. The finish is dry and friendly. This vintage, Kim Crawford returns to the food friendly style on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that I like a lot. Pair this tasty wine with grilled swordfish. 91 Points; Kens

Fragrant and tropical, displaying pineapple, grapefruit, dragon fruit and melon flavors. There's a juicy acidity, with great persistence on the finish. Drink now. 360,000 cases imported. Score: 89 Points; Wine Spectator

The hallmarks of this wine are intensity and complexity, with a beautifully lifted nose of lemongrass, passionfruit, lemon sherbet and green herb aromas. The palate has great concentration, with crisp acidity providing freshness, whilst emphasising the mineral/chalky character and length of the wine. Juicy citrus, zingy lime, passionfruit and fresh cut grass flavours all feature. More suble notes of melon, mango and mealy barrel fermentation add complexity. 

After harvest the grapes were gently pressed with only the free run juice being used for this wine. Fermentation was predominantly in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts to enhance the aromatics. A small portion(7.5%) was fermented in seasoned French oak barriques to add richness and depth to the palate. Each batch was kept separately through the fementation process and only those batches of sufficient quality were blended to produce this wine. 

The grapes for this wine were sourced from seven vineyards, all within Marlborough's Wairau and Waihopai valleys, and represent a broad cross section of soil types and micro-climates, providing us with a diverse range of aromas, flavours and textures, five of these vineyards are on the southern side of the Wairau Valley, where varying proportions of clay in the soils produce wines that have lifted passionfruit aromas, great concentration and crisp acidity. The two remaining vineyards are located closer to the coast and provide an appealing mixture of tropical and herbaceous characters. The timing of picking is crucial to Sauvignon Blanc and constant monitoring was required to be able to harvest the grapes at the optimal moment. This wine will develop well in the bottle over the next three to four years and will take on added complexity and rich secondary characters. 

Not your average Sauvignon Blanc, this wine balances the intense fruits of many New Zealand wines with the restrained mineral acidity of the traditional French style. Sourced from the cool climate Aude Valley in the south of France, the wine retains its varietal character, acidity and freshness.

Rich and lifted with intense scents of fruit mingled with varietal aromas of gooseberries and passionfruit. The limestone soil has imparted floral nuances and a flint like “river stone” scent. The palate is fresh and pure with rich flavours balanced by delicate mineral acidity.

The colour is a transparent light straw with hints of lime green. With an intensity and depth of flavour that is typical of Leeuwin Estate. The bouquet is benchmark Sauvignon Blanc with intense aromas of white peach, lemon sorbet and lifted green melons and gooseberries. The palate has a wonderful textured influence from time in French oak barrels combining with flavours of lemon/lime, crisp green apples and tropical fruits which is refreshing and Moorish, this wine shows exceptional length and focus across the palate. Leeuwin Estate.

The colour is a fresh vibrant pale straw with lime green edges. The nose has a very intense citrus, white peach, with hints of passion fruit and Sauvignon Blanc grassiness to round out a complex bouquet. The passion fruit and citrus carry through to the palate which is medium weight with hints of tropical fruit; there is an underlying intensity of fruit flavours which are soft and mouth filling. The wine finishes with a wonderful balance of fruit and a refreshingly delicate citrus acid flavour.

Boasting one of the most modern wineries in the southern hemisphere, Leeuwin Estate offers its winemakers all the advantages of new age technology. Winemaking however, is an art as well as a science, and it is here where the skills of the winemaker are carefully combined with technology to produce the wines that have been so highly acclaimed. Vineyards are kept balanced with the yearly environmental conditions. With the emphasis on quality rather than quantity, yields at Leeuwin are kept low. Working with the environment and through skilled vineyard management, Leeuwin is able to produce fine fruit in an environmentally friendly manner.

Fresh fruit salad: lychee, orange, watermelon, rockmelon and, in this case, an abundance of passionfruit; and with its ripe passionfruit seed bitterness in harmony with white minerals, green grassy herbs, red grapefruit and tropical fruit compote, of excellent intensity and with nothing overt. Flavoursome but very controlled and refined. Talcy mineral grapefruit acidity fans out the wine over the full length of the palate, providing excellent focus and an impressively long, juicy, refreshing, textured finish. Great drive and wonderful dry texture from front to back. Everything in the right place and full of interest. No doubt the greatest vintage of this wine and the most balanced, harmonious, interesting and focussed Australian Savvy I have tasted for a long time. 93/100, at least; Adair Durie

Forget those towers of Kiwi cleanskins at Dan's because this is where Savvy is at this year, and there's no asparagus, tinned peas or cat's pee to be found. Crunchy, clean, fresh and immaculate, this is a concentrated and powerful Sauvignon, packed with juicy passionfruit and zesty kaffir lime. 89 points Tyson Stelzer

The philosophy of Oyster Bay is to produce fine, distinctly regional wines that are elegant and assertive with glorious fruit flavours. It all starts in the vineyard. We treat each vineyard block and parcel of wine as individual. The fruit is crushed, gently pressed and the juice is cold settled. A long, slow temperature controlled fermentation and immediate bottling after winemaking, retains all the wonderful fruit flavours and aromas that are present.

Pale straw green in colour with brilliant clarity, Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is zesty and aromatic with lots of lively, penetrating fruit characters. A concentration of assertive passionfruit and tropical fruit flavours with an abundant bouquet, it is a wine that is always crisp, elegant and refreshing.

Goulburn Valley. Sourced from cooler climate vineyards this Sauvignon Blanc displays rich passionfruit and honeydew with a crisp fresh finish.

Unmistakably sauvignon blanc in aroma and flavour. Intense, lifted fruit in the passionfruit, floral, citrus spectrum with a cut grass edge to it. Mid-palate weight and texture adds interest. Balanced acidity provides freshness and length. Dry, clean finish.

Printhie is a name to watch. Chardonnay is a high point and so is this very good Sauvignon. It shows how well the cool New South Wales district of Orange suits this variety. It's all about fragrant, pure varietal fruit. It has tropical fruit salad, lightly herbal and grassy notes, good texture and depth, finishing zesty and refreshing; Ralph Kyte-Powell, Age, May 2011

It’s difficult for an Aussie sauvignon blanc – made in the fresh fruit style – to break through these days, but I dare say that the Printhie version has. Just goes to show – the best marketing is inside the bottle. It’s a pristine bottle of white wine. Fresh, fruity, a little bit fancy and a little bit aloof. It’s not in-your-face but it doesn’t under-deliver either. Dry grasses and lemons, passionfruit and gunmetal. Fruits and occasions of the summer. I like it. It deserves an audience. Rated : 91 Points; Alcohol : 12.5%; Price : $18 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2011 - 2012 By Campbell Mattinson The Wine Front

Printhie is one of the foremost wineries in the Orange region, established by the Swift family in 1996. This ready-to-go wine comes from the bottom of the three-tiered range, and meets its objective of providing particularly good value for money. Light straw-green, it has attractive, fresh, tropical aromas on the bouquet with ripe citrus, lime and mineral injected into the palate; the finish is crisp and clean. Rating: 90 Points; Drink: 2012; Price: $18.00; Alcohol: 12.5%; James Halliday Wine Companion, Nov 2011