New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs Are Amazing

I've been a HUGE fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs for about three years. I think the first one I bought that made me really stand up and say YUM-AY was the Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I discovered it in the wine department at Central Market in Shoreline, WA. All of you locals probably know about Central Market. It's the Costco or Home Depot of supermarkets. It's amazing. Aisles and aisles and aisles of wonderful food and the best seafood AND produce departments (in my opinion - but that's what this whole blogging thing is about, yes?) in Western Washington. Now don't tell me that Whole Food (aka Whole Paycheck) blows away Central Market because it just doesn't. Okay? Moving on.

As I was saying, I tried the Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and I was immediately hooked. Tropical fruit, grapefruit, stone fruit, gooseberry, gorgeous citrus (grapefruit again) nose and high acid. This means dry, acidic, citrus, balanced, mouth watering, delicious. This addiction to Sauvignon Blanc leads me to try all things New Zealand. I'm not saying that Washington State can't do Sauvignon Blancs well because they can do just about anything well here when it comes to wine. By the way - I was in a wine class last night and apparently we can no longer brag about being on the same latitude (longitude? I don't know - I get those two mixed up) as France and that's why our wine is such a contender for European wines and why we have better (again, my opinion) wine than anyplace else in the world (GASP! Are we turning into France when it comes to our opinion about our wines?). Why can't we brag about that whole latitude/longitude thing? Because apparently (who knew?) all of the great wines of the world are just north of the equator or just south of the equator. We're all in the same wine boat, or wine bottle, so to speak. Yes, Washington wines are contenders. Why, I've written an earlier post about Guardian Cellars Sauvignon Blanc called Angel. It's wonderful and delicious and I bought a whole damn case of it so it must be good, right? Right! Moving on again.

Back to my point. If you haven't been paying attention, it's hotter than Hades in Seattle right now (83 degrees is like being in Hell if you're of Celtic decent like me. We Scotch/Irish are extremely happy when it's about 65 degrees and overcast with a 90 percent chance of rain) so this calls for a cold, white wine. Also, I signed all of my paperwork today to close on the townhouse I just bought so it's time to celebrate. And that's what I'm doing. So, after signing many, many, many pieces of paper today (how often do you sign your full name over and over again?) I'm enjoying the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc I bought at the grocery store next door and oh man it's hitting the spot. I found a bottle of 2008 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (13 percent alcohol) and it normally sells for $19 but it was on sale for $15 so I thought, what the hey? I'd never tried this one before but I have to say that I'm really glad I did.

For those who care, this is what the Wine Specator has to say about the 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvingnon Blanc:

"Fragrant and complex, with a refreshing burst of lime, guava, grapefruit and grass flavors. Wet stone, passion fruit and oyster shell accents add interest, with bright acidity highlighting the vivid finish. Another outstanding Sauvignon from a perennial success. Drink now." Wine Specator gives it 91 points. I give it 100 points. I've tasted a lot of Sauvignon Blancs but for my money and for my pallet, this one has everything going for it.

And like the Wine Spectator suggests: "Drink now." I'm all over it.