Whom You Know: Champagne Wishes: Villa Maria Estate Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Highly Recommended by Whom You Know: Best Sauvignon Blanc on the market and must be purchased by all!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Champagne Wishes: Villa Maria Estate Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Highly Recommended by Whom You Know: Best Sauvignon Blanc on the market and must be purchased by all!

New Zealand makes some of the world's best wines, and we are pleased to say we have recommended three out of three now for Villa Maria. The Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is the latest in their hit parade, and it is perfect in Manhattan in August. We really love it. Even if we can't drink it with our best friend from New Zealand, Mayling, because she lives across the pond in London...

VINEYARD DESCRIPTION
Fruit for this wine was sourced from vineyards across the Marlborough region. A blend of fruit grown in the Wairau and Awatere Valleys spanning a range of different meso-climates was incorporated. Careful attention was paid to vine health to give it the best chance to optimize the season and develop strong, clean flavors.

WINEMAKING
The superb 2009 vintage and beautifully balanced vineyards produced grapes which were harvested at varying levels of ripeness over a five week period, providing for an array of flavors and blending options. The fruit was crushed, pressed and settled for 24 hours before being racked. Fermentation was conducted cool at 54-57˚F to ensure maximum retention of delicate flavors and aromatics. Soon after fermentation was completed, the wine was bottled to capture its vibrancy and freshness.

WINEMAKER’S COMMENT
This vibrant Sauvignon Blanc is bursting with a fruit-salad-bowl of flavors including ripe gooseberry, passionfruit, fresh citrus lime and exotic herbaceous aromas. At Whom You Know, this variety that is unique to this region you would never find near Manhattan, and the wine literally does burst with it and it is original and fabulous. The wine has an exciting palate with layers of juicy flavors, intensity and fullness, finishing with a refreshing crisp, clean and racy acidity. An exuberant and delightful wine.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS
Seafood, pasta with cream sauce, mild cheeses and vegetable salads.

Technical Details:
Region: Marlborough
Varieties: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol: 13%
pH: 3.25
Total Acidity: 7.5gL
Aging: NA
Residual sugar: 3.5gL

The Champagne Wishes Panel put this to the test, and they rave:

With the warm weather in full swing Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc has been a great cool down. I really love sauvignon blanc in general - especially this one. This amazing Sauvignon Blanc comes from New Zealand and might even put some Napa Valley wines to shame. I promise you will not be disappointed. This wine is simply a burst of flavor. There are tastes like passionfruit, fresh citrus, lime that just jump right out and kiss your palate. It really tastes like an amazing fruit salad. It has a good balance of bold flavors. With all the intense juicy flavors who can resist? I love the fullness and refreshing crisp, clean taste. This is an excellent wine to match with chicken and seafood. I particularly love this wine with an amazing salmon I cooked up. The wine is a great compliment. I also really love drinking this wine on it's own. It has such a distinct intense taste that it can stand on its own. This wine also has a screw top. It's great so you don't have to lug a bottle opener with you. I've also served this wine to a few of my friends and they really love it. They said they were going to buy some bottles because they couldn't get enough of the rich bold taste. Best Sauvignon Blanc on the market and must be purchased by all!

While the official Villa Maria tasting notes names gooseberry as the main fruit flavor for this wine, I wish I have a more than passing acquaintance with this fruit, being quite the berries fan, but unfortunately gooseberry isn't widely available here in New York City and I don't recall having tasted this fruit on my travels. The fruit notes that I do recognize are the citrusy and melon-y ones, tinged with an extra herbaceous aroma. This wine provides quite the bracing kick upon first sniff and especially during the first sip. The flavor is very intense, dry and complex, the strong flavors of the citrus notes along with what is likely the gooseberry, is countered with a mineral-y and herbaceous zing. I paired this wine with a rich dish like chicken pot pie and found that the different notes and layers of the wine balanced and complemented the spices, chicken, vegetables and pastry dough quite well. The bracing quality and crispness of the wine was mellowed by the flavorful elements of this dish, making both more enjoyable and enticing.

Whom You Know Highly Recommends the Villa Maria Private Bin Marlborough Savignon Blanc 2009!

We previously recommended the Riesling:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/07/champagne-wishes-villa-maria-private.html
and the Unoaked Chardonnay:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/07/champagne-wishes-villa-maria-private_30.html

We love Villa Maria Estate!
http://www.villamaria.co.nz/

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