One overall preference ..... balance - lots of nuances, Good SB will delight and refresh me . Any of the principal elements out of kilter and the sauvignon blanc wine can fail

There are now quite a few well made NZ ones - so finding the benchmark ones in various styles, that satisfy connoisseurs at the affordable level is a long search.

And they change their faces - particularly in the six months after release

Enough of this examination Well.... till next time

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Duncan

2009 vavasour now available at maj.
Was open at the tasting table altho a little warm
pretty pungent with big gooseberry hit tho not sharp
was that a hint of blackcurrant?? Maybe I was just trying Ti find it and convinced myself....

Yeah ... Auto suggestion when a wine has a good basic flavour and balance.

The pungency has to be the nose, and then a bubble of fragrance that you get when you step by the side of a black or red currant bush in the vegetable garden in the midday sun. It is the aromatic oils emitting from the leaves and new green stems, as they bend down from the heat and offer the plant further protection.

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Duncan

Shez,

Maybe no auto suggestion - you could be right-on for "Lovely pure, vibrant wine with energy"

You were drinking this, although warm amd open for too long, it is rated as a 5 star wine by BC. Odd that Mr G does not favour it ?

vavasour-awatere-valley-marlborough-sauvignon-blanc-2009

However, for the money:

Shez, we need to serve this at home in near perfect conditions, and see for ourselves.

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Duncan

MrD,

I haven't tried the 09, just the petrolly 08. The petrolly 08 put me off trying the 09.

And do buy a bottle of the Sancerre. I think it's nicer than the Perrierre that you and I liked.

Very subtle though.

I'm changing my order at Maj.

Astrolabe Kekxxxxgru green label is being put back on the shelf. I'm not paying that, I refuse.

Some Vavasour Awatere '09, joins 3 x Oh Block 6 '09's being sourced at the mo.
BC's TN says the Oh Block 6 is better suited for me - Not quite so 4 you Mr G ! You run-out of '09 options ? While Vav A '09 appears to be gauged on your rails.

I'll put a note on my dear Misses shopping list, she'll be in Sains tomorrow night. Have you got a pic of that Sancerre '09 ? She does subtle, preferably Fume' at 12.5% alc.

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Duncan

Oh Block 6 09 is a dream I love it. BC is wrong.

Who is BC

BC....Bob Campbell

G ~ Have given myself a good slap ~

This Vavasour 09 is very good. There is a hint of passion fruit, but it is more gooseberry. I am getting no blackcurrant. It is tart where the Saint Clair basic is sweet. But not too tart. There is some pungency but nowhere near as much as the SC. That said the SC has lost a lot of it now and the SC probably just edges it. Its a shame we didn't get to try this when it was fresh. Its better cold and is very refreshing. There are some grassy notes too.

In my mind the best MSB of the year is turning out to be the Co-op Estate Reserve. When the SC basic was fresh it was incredible but it is losing something now. I opened a Co-op ER maybe a month ago and it was perfect. Incredibly that wine was possibly the cheapest MSB available at £4.99 and it was bulk shipped and bottled in the UK. Anybody see any around recently?

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tribs

This Vavasour 09 is very good

Good TN, with comparatives against the ones some of us know.

I've not experienced much lychee or passion fruit since '07. Brain fade - memory says nothing recently has been up that street as you would know it. Forget newspaper column cliche reports - many just repeat the mantra said last time)

As for blackcurranr leaf pungency, it was apparent on Clifford Bay and SC Oh ! Block 6 for the 2008 vintage, BUT they are expensive, and double the price to experience this feature.

To summarise, Vavasour '09 is a well made and more vivid version of the 2009 MSB linear gooseberry dominated flavour, that is the most prevalent style this year - we're not going to get lychee like stuff this year ? ? ?

Tribs - does it earn a £ gong for £7.99 ? I pick mine up today.

I may crack one this evening, serve nearly fridge cool, you say.
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Duncan

The Vav is close to how I remember last years Reach. That was around the same price, although occasionally cheaper when on offer, so, no £. Its about right for me. If I gave this a £ the Co-op reserve would need to be upgraded to two ££

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tribs

Thanks Tribs - At Quaffers - We Get Them Right .

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Duncan