Duncan, Let me know if you succeed on your quest to find a tropical SB as I'd like to find one too.
The first time I ever tried a NZ SB a few years back at a restaurant I remember it having more of the passionfruit notes and slightly less of the gooseberry/blackcurrant leaf.

Goose, on your recommendation I bought a couple of the 2007 Jackson Estate when it was on offer at waitrrose. Really enjoyed it the other night. Very good shout. Hopfully still OK after sitting in the fridge open for 2 days as I was out last night so didn't get to finish it off

If I find some NZ MSB 2007 with tropical fruit notes, and stock is low, I'll use the grapevine if I may ?

The Ribera del Duro, Peresqueta was cleared out - Remember

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Duncan

no probs. The Pesquera incident still hurts. Just glad I managed to pick some up elsewhere even tho it didn't have the £20 discount.

Am off to Tesco tomorrow after work with a list of different SBs currently on offer along with a few other whites I want to give a go.

Plan is to try and pick up the following:

Finest MSB
Ocean Edge NZ SB
Montana MSB
Frontera SB, Chile
Finest Darling SB, SA

If successful I think I'll try and have a SB tasting event if I can get some friends round some time
Goose, any I should be giving a swerve before I waste my money on them?

oh, and just finished the Jackson Estate opened a couple of days ago and still good 2 days on

Shezza.

Glad you enjoyed the JE 2007. One of the great sb's...albeit in my highly biased opinion.

Tesco Finest Marlborough is very rich coming from low yielding vines and with 10% oak fermentation. It's worth including in a tasting though just to show how different sauvignons from the same region can be.

The Frontera is just dry white wine. Try the Finest Los Nogales from Leyda Valley or the Del Limari. Both very good.

Ocean's View is best chucked into the ocean...it's hard work and I guess made from grapes that would have been binned if it wasn't for the fact that so many consumers nowadays have such a desire for increasingly cheap wine from famous regions.

The Finest Darling from Mel's tasting notes sounds typically South African....asparagus and compost heap.

Montana should be the starting point in a list of good sauv. But in your list it's the best of them.

Try the Vergelegen 2008 to replace the Darling and the Sileni the Sounds 2007/08 Marlborough to replace the Ocean's Edge. If it's too pricey at over a tenner try the 2008 Wither Hills or Sacred Hill. Make sure they are 2008 though.

Nobilo 2008 and Oyster Bay 2008 are less expensive options and both much nicer than Ocean's Edge.

I'll bet you're wishing you'd never asked..

Dry Creek 2007 Sonoma, made by Bill Knuttel.

I found 4 of these Californian SB's in Marks and Spencer recently . Link to the same wine below for label recognition

http://www.bibendum-wine.co.uk/retail/w ... +2007+75cl


Very good quality cork and tight lead closure, the best non grainy ivory type, immaculate conventional sealing. Enjoyed opening the bottle, and feel of the screw turning, no cracking at all.

I poured the wine into a wider Burgundy glass and got Smoke straight away. Yep, nice garden shrub and old herb bed and raspberry cane SMOKE, you know the one, if you are fortunate to have a half decent garden, and you are allowed to enjoy an open fire outside in your neighbourhood.

A good quality wine, very well made and exhibiting all the classic notes that you would expect from a Fume' Blanc. Think restrained New World versions of a 2003 or ripe 2005 Pouilly Fume' that is Not Oaked.

I enjoyed the wine, a nice supper starter. The nose was quite restrained, and the wine had a bit more body than a decent NZ MSB, and less racey acidity, no real nettle pungency ..... So I Was Foxed At First !

OK, The wine retails at £8.99, and is not listed on their web site stock, so not at the budget end, BUT, you won't easily * find nice smoke and some minerally flintyness for less money ! ( * A challenge for Mr G)

I recommend keeping the 2007 wine for up to another year / 18 months or so. The closure is excellent, there is enough body and fruit, and the smoke would be more sophisticated if the wine matured a little bit more.

Drink by Christmas 2010. Don't over chill, or you may extinguish the smoke ! Drink at one sitting, the smoke on your return is not there if left in the fridge overnight. Do not let the wine go flabby and room temperature in the glass.

A nice find

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Duncan

Duncan.

This was my note on Dry Creek. The first bit belongs to M&S.

Made for M&S by William Knuttel. Dry Creek Winery, from 100% Sauvignon Blanc.


The combination of Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley fruit adds depth and richness to the wine, while maintaining its trademark flintiness. Fermented in stainless steel, this wine is unoaked.
– 150 stores

Catty and green, but with some sweetness. Light and obviously sauvignon. To me, Fumé Blanc implies oak contact, but this isn’t. Not a problem as it’s fresh and pleasant, but I’d have bought this expecting oak.

19/09/08

13.50%

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mel

Was a good shout. definately one to revisit when I've finished the other bottle.
and will be heading straight for Jacksons stand at the Decanter New World tasting in May



As always your SB insight is invaluabe and most appreciated
My list was just based on current special offer SBs at Tescos. Was gonna give them a sample while they were on the cheap but if a few aren't worth visiting then I'll give a miss. Altho might be good to get an example of a fairly naff one so we benchmark poor SBs too (if that makes sense)
The finest MSB sounds like something I might enjoy bbeing a fan of chard and liking rrich whites (altho the I think the point of drinking MSB is more for the frsher element) Never been that impressed by previous vvintages of Montana but from what I've read here 2008 sounds ok.
If I'm not gonna go for the special offers, I happened to pop in to the local Tesco Metro near work this morning and saw they had about 8 bottles of 2008 Curious Cove for 9.99 (with a discontinued sticker on the price label so had better get in the quick !) and currently 1 bottle of 2008 The Reach for 8.99.
Think both of the have been well thought of by you guys on previous vintages so are probably worth a go.
Have heard lots of good things about theLeyda Valley in recent reading so will give some Chileans a go too.
Will stop by the bigger supermarket on the wayhome tonight and see what they've got

Hi Mel, I put the wine into your search engine, and it did not come up ? The forum phpBB software appears to need exact description as previously typed-up for recognition, Otherwise, a load of spurious references come up.

Of the wine:

This was one of my M&S bargains Only four left .....I enjoyed for a change, the extra fullness and ripeness to the SB fruit, and therefore have made the remaining bottles, a candidate for 2010, where I believe the fruit is sufficient, and smokiness will evolve to a wine that tastes ahead of it's class. Sweetness could be interesting with Tai prawns, lemon grass, and rocket side salad with Buffalo milk cheese....Yum.

*Sweetness*, just as well fermentation was curtailed - otherwise, another stupid new world SB @ 14.5% Everyone wants dry, dried-out white wines - Duh !

Mel, You can tell from my Burgundy rouge choices that I like full and ripe fruit I look for ripe vintages. Ok this wine is fairly simple (other than the smoke) but the ripeness could go somewhere with time.

Of the fume', I am taught from the old school and have always put this down to smoke and "Gunpowder Plot" as coined by Mr G. The fume' smokey nose is one that I search for when spending serious dosh in the Loire. This had the Fume' for £8.99 which is good. When this wine dries out a bit in 12 -18 months time.....it could fool a few mates for a ripe and proper F. Pouilly LOL

I haven't necessarily always assumed Oak for a fume'. The secret of the terrior and of the smoke revealing itself, akin to the odd charred barrel included for a whole cuvee is a mystery to most wine quaffers *

May be they char the oak paddles over the embers of Autumn prunings, and then use them for a bit of battonage ?

* Perhaps this Wino confession, and a comment from Jancis Robinson unravels the Californian Fume' Blanc as a marketing name created by Robert Mondavi:-
http://www.alastairbathgate.com/2008/08 ... lanc-2004/

Foxed again.

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Duncan

Impressive how much this discussion has changed from the original subject

Anyway, stopped off at Tescos to find either half of the planned bargain targets were either not in stock or not reduced in the store (altho they are online....)
On the SB front their finest MSB wasn't reduced in store like it is online.
As advised by Goose I steered well clear of the Ocean Edge (which they have loads in stock down to £3.99 from a claimed usual price of £7.99 so maybe says something) and also gave the Darling SA SB a miss too.
Picked up a Montana 2008 which was down £5.45 bottle until 24th Mar but think is usually on offer at one of the 4 main supermarkets (they jsut seem to rotate) so not in any rush to hoover a load up.
Picked up a 2008 Nobilo too as was the same price so will have a bit of a compare between them when I get a chance.
Aside from my fairly unsuccesful SB bargain hunt I opted to have a go at a few other grape varieties I'm not too familiar with so picked up a a handful of wines from their finest range in the hope of finding some reasonable whites for the summer:

TF Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc
TF Fiano
TF Steillage Mosel Riesling
TF Gavi

Only the Fiano was opened this weekend (pretty much as soon as I got home actually)
Tasted of crunchy Apple and citrus with a slight honied hint coming through at the end which given time might me more prominent. The bottle didn't last much longer than an hour after opening though so can't really confirm that last point.
This was my first experience of Fiano and certainly wasn't offensive. Although I'd have no problem trying this again, I doing think I'll rush out to buy this with other producers and so many other grape varieties for me yet to try.
Think I'll save my pennies and treat myself to a Planeta Cometa some time and see what is supposedly a very good Siccilian Fiano tastes like
(Boy, I gotta learn to shorten my posts !!)

Shez

Shez,

Of the TF Steillage Mosel Riesling;

Mel gave it a star back in September. This is What She Said,

Peardrop, cool fermentation aroma, and very floral, as well. 23 grams/litre residual sugar and with just enough acidity to balance, but not make it mouth watering. Actually, it’s great value. 11.5%

So you're not hopeless at grabbing a bargain !

As for drivel, as long as it is not unexpurgated Bull Poopie like my stuff, you shouldn't get clobbered that often.

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Duncan

Bit of a result then! Should have check to see if Mthere were any tasting notes
It wasn't ddiscounted or anything but at £5.99 a bottle you can hardly discount it that much further and if it is as nice as Mel says it'll be a good find.
Have tried Tesco finest Sth Oz Tingleup Riesling back on New Year's eve which I enjoyed (a lot more that the Tim Adams Clare Valley from Tesco that we drank straight after).
Figured that even with the claim to fame that Clare and Eden have recently established for Riesling I shouldn't let the German stuff slip under the radar

Don't be to hard on yourself either mate. As our resident Franch expert your regular BS posts are always welcome

Just been checking thru tasting notes and Mel had a comprehensive list of everything in Tesco's Finest range. Was shocked at how wide their range spans (and that Mel was able to taste that many in a sitting! )

Anyway, seems the Fiano was a big hit with both Mel and the judges at IWC (Best Fiano and Best Italian White) so may have to give it another try some time
(is also included in an currebt offer where for an extra £3 you get a main, side dish and dessert for 2 from a limited selection of the finest range so a tenner for a night in for 2!)

The other TF range I bough also seem to be well reviewed by Mel so looking forward to trying them

Also while having a seach I came across this:

http://ccgi.quaffersoffers.co.uk/QOforu ... ceans+edge

Seems G you liked the 2007 Ocean's Edge is the 2008 that much worse (can't imagine it'd be that different!) or you have confused it with "Ocean's View" that you mentioned ? Ocean's Edge currently just 3.99 so might give it a go anyway as I can always use it to cook with or clean the car's wheels or something....

I bought 4 bottles when on offer back in March/April 07. The first was light and herbaceous. The next 3 were astringent and hard work. Especially when chilled.

I put the tasting note up after the first bottle. I tried it again in the Autumn and even lightly chilled it was a bit heavy going.

I should have edited the tasting note....sorry !

I haven't tried the 2008.

With a good sb, when you buy a case, there is often one duff bottle. With these cheap sauvs there's usually 1 good one per case and 5 duff ones.

Even at £3.99 ( standard price £5.99 so they have lifted the price in order to halve it ) I am in no rush to go and try it.

I think when I said Ocean's View I meant Ocean's Edge.......

Sainsbury have cut the price of Jackson Estate 2007 to £8.99. As a bin end I guess although they list it as a new standard price.

It will be interesting to see if they keep the price when the 2008 hits the shelves.

Shez,
There is a significant difference between 2007 and 2008 MSB, Particularly at the budget end of the scale - Significant. Why do you think I have been searching affordable 2007's to find one that is still LEFT ON THE SHELVES, that has Passion and tropical fruit notes.

The Reach 2007 performed well above it's price band, Montana Reserve 2007 and most of Villa Maria's 2007 offerings were up my street as well.

This guy below, MW Bob Campbell has similar taste buds to mine, when it comes to aligning points with satisfaction levels.

http://www.bobswinereviews.com/sauvigno ... sc&score=0

St Clair and Cloudy B 2008's make it into the top 20, but these are much more dosh. The Budget 2008's appear to be way down the list. Mr G gave me the link to Bob's tasting notes, and what he recognises in the flavour, is what I like.

I'm still waiting for the Stonewall 2007 to arrive.

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Duncan