Tasted 24th March 2011

Tierhoek Chenin Blanc 2009 £10.95
From the cool Citrusdal mountains and old vines at the beautiful Tierhoek farm, the second highest grown chenin in the Cape. 14%
Milky, cream nose - quite sweet smelling. Dry and with warmish alcohol. Not much to it for £10.95

The Society's Chilean Chardonnay, Limarí 2010 £ 5.95
Made for us by Concha y Toro, this was aged on its lees to develop good mid palate weight with about 10% fermented and matured in barrels, to contribute a little roundness without masking its bright, citrus fruit. 14%
Very heavy bottle. Pleasant, green, chardonnay nose. Not overtly oaky aroma but the taste is quite aggressively oaky, chewy. It needs some time to smooth out. The alcohol's also a bit hot. If you like oak and alcohol this is good value.

Kumeu River, Coddington Vineyard Chardonnay 2008 £18.00
In 2006 the decision was made to bottle this compnent of the Estate blend as a single-vineyard cuvée for the first time, and now between 600 and 700 cases are made. 13.5%
This was served very cold and still had a great aroma. Quite deep colour. Toasty, oaky nose - very full and lovely. The taste is very oaky and toasty but refreshing as well.

Franschhoek Vineyards Semillon 2009 £ 6.95
From 80 year old vines, this is elegant wine with the potential for cellaring. Barrel-fermented and matured, this is the maiden vintage of this wine from young winemaker Richard Duckitt, who has enjoyed the opportunities that have come with much needed investment from Douglas Green. A Wine Society exclusive. 13.5%
Some asparagus on the nose. Quite vegetal and not in a great way. Quite a hollow taste. It's relatively cheap, but doesn't amount to a great deal.

Undurraga Candelabro Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda 2010 £ 6.50
Intense, fresh, nettly Leyda sauvignon blanc from the fine and cool 2010 vintage made by Rafael
Urrejola, one of Chile’s most gifted young winemakers. 14%
Green, fresh, catty nose, with a hint of asparagus. Tart, green, catty taste and quite long. Good value.

Tabalí, Caliza Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Limarí 2010 £ 8.25
Brisk, taut, refreshing sauvignon blanc in a most mineral style. Clean as a whistle. Ideal with seafood. 13.5%
Smelt directly after the Underraga Candelabro Sauvignon, which had more of everything. The taste is savoury with bright acidity.

Undurraga TH, Lo Abarca Sauvignon Blanc 2010 £11.50
From a very cool vineyard in San Antonio about a mile or so from the Pacific Ocean, this is a taut, tense style of sauvignon, more mineral than fruity, which will blossom with a year or so bottle age. 14%
Very heavy bottle and nice little footsteps on the label. The TH stands for Terroir Hunter. They only make 689 cases. Quite a green, perhaps asparagus, or celery, nose. Nicely acidic. Really mouth-watering. Long and delicious, but the acid's high. *

Viña Leyda, Lot 4 Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Valley 2010 £11.50
Very mineral wine yet the palate, though very fresh, has lovely texture and weight. Only 120 dozen produced from a little known South African clone 317 planted in 2005 in the Canelo vineyard. We thought it so exceptional we bought the lot. 13%
Clean nose but not a lot of Sauvignon character. Some elder. Tangy and green taste. Tart, in a good way, and quite long.

McHenry Hohnen Burnside Vineyard 2010 £10.95
Wine Society Selection Sauvignon Blanc
Though Margaret River has a tradition for making refined, Bordeaux-style sauvignon-semillon blends, the quality of the fruit from the Burnside vineyard was so good that winemaker Ryan Walsh and Wine Society buyer Pierre Mansour decided it should be bottled as a single-vineyard varietal wine. 13.5%
Light on the nose. A bit of residual sugar and seems flabby and disjointed.

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