My wife was tempted by the lovely tinted bottle and bought one in a mixed 6

Nasty wine - insipid, too sweet and a really unpleasant aftertaste.

£7.50 down the drain...literally!

The entry level wines of the main players used to be very good. Brancott Estate ( Montana as it was ), Oyster Bay, Nobilo. Matua, Dashwood ( Vavasour ), Babich were all quite classic. Too acidic perhaps when compared to more expensive offerings but the flavour was correct.

Now they all seem to be dumbing down. It's as if they're trying to compete with the Dolphin Bays and the Kiwi Coves rather than the Saint Clairs.

The Reach made for Tesco isn't even all sauvignon blanc anymore.

I really used to love Montana, it was our 'go to' wine and always seemed pretty reliable. Since the re-branding I have only had it once or twice and it's not for me anymore.

Relatives always give me wine at Christmas, it's always Oyster Bay....that really has gone downhill!

Indeed it is a pity that the big producers are getting greedy.
Oz Clark while flying over the Marlborough region some time ago, said that a whole lot of vineyards had been established out of the MSB climat, that the peripheral Marlborough terroir was not that suitable for the style we have come to expect. We know that you can't get a quart out of a pint pot.

My view is that the bulk producers, and others jumping on the bandwagon are cutting the must with poor quality juice from immature vines & green fruit, and then trying to soup it up with sugars and yeast additives.
At the moment, the British shopping trolleys are being loaded with it as routinely as Fairy Liquid and tomato ketchup. When UK shoppers bring this habit under some sort of control perhaps the big players will realise ? Or ....may be, the big players will find another way around to getting nearer to the classic style from dodgy fruit !

It's all a bit sad for the fridge door standby. . . . . . . .

There will be a lot of folks now, who are buying, and who may never have tasted the classic basic as we knew it !

Vote with your wallet, drink less budget MSB. I think we can trust on Goose searching them out, however I feel very sympathetic for him, it is an unrewarding task & a costly business going through so many.

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Duncan

I think we can trust on Goose searching them out, however I feel very sympathetic for him, it is an unrewarding task & a costly business going through so many.

I hope those days are gone. After successfully abstaining for a month I now intend to drink nothing but Thatcher's Gold, Hopping Hare and Jackson Estate Stich 2013 for one year.

In Nov 2015 I shall treat myself to a De Ladoucette Pouilly Fume.

Very sorry Mr G, I should have realised, in fact I knew you'd had enough, but you follow the TNs, so if you hear of a decent basic from a reliable source, let them know.

As you know, I've been avoiding all the cheapos for a long time now, and I don't trust the views in the popular press on any NZsb these days.

"If they don't make it, they could be £2.99 a bottle, and I still don't want the damn thing".

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Duncan