Umamu Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Margaret River Australia

2007 Umamu is a blend which contains 33% Semillon  while Sauvignon Blanc is the remainder 67%.  

The wine itself, Umamu Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2007, has lime and tropical fruits on the nose, all fresh and zippy, it also has a grassy note which also dulls some of the tropical notes. On the mouth, a slight tickle on the tongue ( due to carbon dioxide at bottling to maintain the wines freshness), this disappears quickly to reveal lemon pith, grass and zesty lime, great pure fruit! Spice also plays a part in this wine adding a warmth to the mix and rounds out the flavours while ensuring a silky texture. The acidity is tangy and vibrant, the alcohol  unobtrusively supportive of the structure. There is a cheesey edge here which suggests some lees contact which adds complexity and enhances the overall  wine. The length is long and has a lemon freshness to it.A fresh wine with lots of fruit character, zesty acidity and silky texture - what more could you ask?
A wine that would go well with food such as white fish and chicken and maybe shell fish.
Score : 84
It is available at a cost of £17.99 from Wines Unfurled.


It comes from 20 hectares of vineyards planted in 1978, 10 km from Western Australia's Margaret River, located approximately three hours' drive south of Perth, the region was ‘discovered’ in the early 1970s after various pieces of research from Professor Harold Olmo and Dr John Gladstone identified it as a potentially great grape growing region. The Margaret River area includes the rolling hills of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, extending 90 kilometres north-south between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, and is bounded to the west by the Indian Ocean. Highly regarded as a producer of powerful yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon, the region has also forged a great reputation for its white wines notably Chardonnay and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends. However, it is capable of producing all the classic varietal wines. The region is a vibrant and popular wine destination for visitors from around the world.
Margaret River wine region first saw European settlement as late as the 1830’s and has evolved from pioneer ‘outstation’, forestry, dairy, alternative life stylers who enjoyed the unique coast and its surfing to an area dedicated to the pursuit of great vines and fine wine.

The climate is strongly maritime-influenced, as might be expected in a region surrounded by the ocean on three sides. With a mean annual temperature range of only 7.6°C (45.68°F), it has less than 25% of its annual rain falling between October and April. The low diurnal and seasonal temperature range means an unusually even accumulation of warmth. While spring frosts are very rare and highly localised, the lack of winter dormancy for the vines can cause problems that are unique to this region.

McHenry Hohnen Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Margaret River

McHenry Hohnen Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Margaret River

This vintage - the 2011 has produced a lovely pale lemon wine with grassy aromas which also include, lime, lemon pith and a medicinal nuance These follow through to the flavour palate. Great acidity keeps the fruit fresh and zingy, with a pithy citric character and a pea-pod aftertatse, good length and  a spicy, pithy finish. The alcohol on this wine ( 12.5%) is enrobing and does not over-ride the fresh clean fruits. Clean, fresh and summery - all words that work for this wine, great with food, but also great without!

Score : 86




David Hohnen of  McHenry Hohnen ( who studied winemaking in the States, at UC Davis, California)  produces this mix of  60% Semillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc in Margaret River, Western Australia. He must be one of the best known winemakers of Australia and New Zealand, ( Cape Mentelle in the 1970's / Cloudy Bay in the 1980's  fame ). He was his usual relaxed, informal self when he presented his wines at Australia House to a group of wine journalists and enthusiasts.
Luis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) took a share in the buiness in the 1990's which he continued to manage it until 2003 when he retired to concentrate on his own interests. In 2006, David and his brother-in-law, Murray McHenry, launched McHenry Hohnen Wines, and was joined by his daughter Freya as the winemaker though she has since left to start a family. McHenry Hohnen has four vineyards and grows eighteen varieties reflecting Margaret River's heritage, being mostly Bordeaux varieties like Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. "I'm from Margaret River, and I want to tell the story of Margaret River through the wines," he says



Margaret River is Located approximately three hours' drive south of Perth, the region was ‘discovered’ in the early 1970s after various pieces of research from Professor Harold Olmo and Dr John Gladstones identified it as a potentially great grape growing region. The Margaret River area includes the rolling hills of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, extending 90 kilometres north-south between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, and is bounded to the west by the Indian Ocean. Highly regarded as a producer of powerful yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon, the region has also forged a great reputation for its white wines notably Chardonnay and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends. However, it is capable of producing all the classic varietal wines. The region is a vibrant and popular wine destination for visitors from around the world.

Margaret River wine region first saw European settlement as late as the 1830’s and has evolved from pioneer ‘outstation’, forestry, dairy, alternative life stylers who enjoyed the unique coast and its surfing to an area dedicated to the pursuit of great vines and fine wine.

The climate is strongly maritime-influenced, as might be expected in a region surrounded by the ocean on three sides. With a mean annual temperature range of only 7.6°C (45.68°F), it has less than 25% of its annual rain falling between October and April. The low diurnal and seasonal temperature range means an unusually even accumulation of warmth. While spring frosts are very rare and highly localised, the lack of winter dormancy for the vines can cause problems that are unique to this region.

Chateau Doisy Däene 2ème GCC 2005

Chateau Doisy Däene 2ème GCC 2005 is one of those special wines that Bordeaux make so well, Sauternes, a sweetie which has been 'infected or affected' by Botrytis Cinera a 'good fungus'. The grapes are Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, and they have been harvested late in several 'tries' to make sure that only the best/infected grapes are used, so increasing the concentration within the wine!
The colour is deep gold with slow fat legs! On the nose - my first note is 'yummy'! honeyed, floral, tropical fruits incl mango and pineapple and there is a touch of gingery spice.
On the mouth - lusciously sweet, silky mouth texture and masses of concentrated tropical fruits - pineapple, mango, lychee, honeyed and rich with a savoury and pithy are also words that fit in with its character. The length - long and honeyed with those tropical fruits through to the end!
This is a classified growth - so quality was expected, but at the price of £17+ from Waitrose , seems a snip to me!
Score : 95

Botrytis Cinerea is a fungus that can infect grapes in the correct conditions, good rot is called Noble rot - the desired one ( the bad one - grey rot results in wiping out the harvest), there are areas in the world that this can happen naturally and one of these is the area around Sauternes and Barsac in Bordeaux left bank.The aszu wines of Tokaji wines are also produced having been affected by Botrytis Cinerea. It needs a temperate climate and ideally early morning mists ( off cool water) and sun later in the day so the grapes are kept dry in those autumn afternoons. Not all grapes will be affected, and some may take longer to mature which is why several pickings - called Tries- are needed to get all the grapes at thier ideal condition.
The fungus affects the skins and feeds off sugars in the grape itself, but also uses about 50% of its water contained in the grape, so overall the grapes sugar concentration increases! Additionally acids are also consumed ( 5/6ths of the Tartaric acid in the grape is consumed). By products that are produced include glycerine ( the chemical which makes the wine feel viscous), acetic acidand a selection of enzymes. Phenolics of from the skins are also consumed so reducing the tannic structure.
Due to the reduction in water content of the grape the juice produced from Noble Rot infected grapes is low - often in the range of 15 hl/ha.

Dourthe La Grande Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Bordeaux

Bordeaux white wines are generally blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, this Dourthe La Grande Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2010 is the former only and is supplied by Waitrose at a cost of £7.99.
It is bright and clear as expected with a pale lemon green colour. On the nose a mix of tropical fruits, nettle, grass and honeysuckle with a citric grapefruit hint. This smells 'New World' - full on and fruity, and when you taste it - the confusion would stop, it tastes French, the grassiness takes over, the acidity is crisp with quite low alcohol ( 12.5%, would have felt higher if the wine was from newer world clime).The length remains dry throughout and the pithiness excels in the finish! A fresh, zesty, uncomplicated wine - ready for drinking now, and drink it soon to trap all those fruity flavours in!
Score : 85

Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Chile

This is a Late Harvest from Chile is made by Conch Y Toro and we have been lucky enough to taste this at the vineyard near Santiago, and it is a real sweetie – and at the price £5.95 for the half bottle, a lovely finish to any meal, and we often keep a bottle in the fridge to have a small glass as an aperitif, a lovely start to an evening and the alcohol is only 12%, so not too taxing.
It is made from some noble rotted, botrytis affected grapes (about 40% are affected) and grown in the Lourdes Vineyard, Maule valley – Chile, with low yields as expected due to the careful picking regime required. They are picked late in May just as they start to shrivel so concentrating their flavour. The winemaker is Hector Urzú.

On the nose this Sauvignon Blanc is immediately identified as not a typical dry Sauvignon as there are aromas of tropical fruit primarily pineapple as well as honeyed pear which are typical aromas associated with Botritic wines. It is full bodied and offers flavours of pineapple, marmalade and pear which all bounce around the mouth and it is generous on the palate, the fresh well integrated acidity keeps the fruit fresh and the sweetness clean and uncloying – in fact it is rich, delicious and enticing.  Great with a fruit pudding or milk ice cream – a delight!

La Bourgeoise Sancerre 2009 from the Loire, France

La Bourgeoise Sancerre 2009 from the Loire, France

The Bourgeois family have been making wine in Sancerre for ten generations  and is now run by Jean-Marie Bourgeois – having  grown from 2 to 65 hectares in the last 50 years, the domaine provides about half of the firm's needs, the rest purchased from local growers.

Henri Bourgeois produces a range of Sancerre and other appellations, principally Pouilly-Fumé and not to be forgotten the family's venture in New Zealand producing Clos Henri. La Bourgeoise, made from fifty year old vines grown on flinty soils on the southwest facing slopes of St Satur sells at about £22 and is vinified in stainless steel with some oak maturation. Less intense  aromas when compared to its New Zealand contemporary ( Clos Henri), but the grassy minerality exhibiting its terroir, It has a perfumed floral edge and  the lemon / green apple aromas are indicative of both area and grape variety.

Tasting it shows fresh acidity which keeps this wine fresh, the fruit ranges from lemon to greengager with a leafy grass and a flinty edge, the medium body and alcohol has a silky texture and is creamy on the mouth. A citric finish with a kick at the end has good length. This is a well knitted wine – enjoy!

Clos Henri Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Clos Henri Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2010, this Sauvignon Blanc is made with grape vines ( S.Blanc) from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire, France. The makers are 10^th generation wine makers – the Henry Bourgeois family in the Loire, who decided in 2000 to plant grapes in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough and harvested them for the first time in 2000, and since then have gained a reputation. They have used both French and new world viticultural and winemaking techniques to capture the essence of Marlborough varietal character and reveal the identity of the Clos Henri Terroir. There are 3 distinct soil types which offer diversity in flavour for the grapes grown.

The wine itself was pale lemon in colour – sparkly and clear. Herbal, grass notes exceed the tropical notes one normally expects from Marlborough Sauvignons. There was also a twinge of sweat and florality, but not  as unpleasant as it sounds.

On the mouth green flavours, grass, greengage and herbs come through, again low tropical fruit notes and a hint of minerality, the high acidity keeping all fresh and the well integrated ( I cannot believe it is 14%) alcohol supports the structure of the wine, creaminess indicates lees contact – and this adds to the complexity in the mouth.

The Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc 2010 won the Special Trophy Award – Best Sauvignon Blanc in the World - at the Mondial du Sauvignon Competition which took place in Bordeaux earlier this year. The winemaker is Damien Yvon. And the 2011 won a silver medal in the Decanter Wine Awards

Makutu Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Marlborough/ New Zealand .

Makutu Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Marlborough/ New Zealand . This vineyard is a privately owned operation (Tamra Washington the wine maker, and winery owner Peter Yealands ), it is large and in the very windy Awatere Valley. The berries resulting from the harsh conditions (low rainfall, high sunshine, cool nights and strong winds) are low yielding and small and thick skinned, so the relative skin:pulp ratio is high – hence the concentrated flavours and aromas. And yes it delivers again, lots of juicy fruit, tropical lychee and passionfruit, elderflower and sweet greengagers. The acidity is high, the alcohol medium but well integrated, the cirtic finish is fresh and zippy to the end. This wine feels well balanced and fruit driven – youthful fresh and fruity. It is a wine that should not be kept but drunk now – and at £9.50….. who can resist!

Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Margaret River Australia

Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc 2011 is  from Margaret River in Australia has a similar climate and to a certain extent soil distribution to Bordeaux, and like Bordeaux this wine is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon ( low percentage). The grapes are harvested at night to preserve the fruity acidity and this comes through in the wine.  It is very pale with slight green tinge, has floral aromas along with tropical fruits – tinned guava as well as greengager and streaked with minerality, this is a New World Sauvignon Blanc done in a French way.

The acidity is is the right place, zingy and fresh and the alcohol is well integrated and supports the wine helping to give a silky mouth feel which also enhanced by the oiliness of  Semillon. The length is good and has a citric finish after a tropical fruit start. Oak has been used in its maturation but does not overpower the fresh fruit driven flavours, not does the 4 month maturation on its lees.

At a price of £13 this is a nice Sauvignon Blanc,there are some on the market better value, it has a similar profile to the fresh and fruity Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand but with a French twist, and these are often at this price bracket or less though this is more elegant and care has been taken in its making.

The Outlier from Jordan in South Africa 2009

The Outlier from Jordan in South Africa 2009

This is a wine that delivered, with true Sauvignon Blanc flavours and aromas and fresh acidity. Some french oak had been used – but only slightly fills out the clean fresh flavours. There was minerality obvious on both nose and palate, and gooseberry and kiwi continue from one to the other with  the oak adding structure and a smoky creaminess. The acidity for me seems slightly out of kilter – jumping and spiky, but not so much that the wine was spoilt. The alcohol was well integrated and provided some bulk to the body and the structure of this wine felt good and balanced.

The vines that provide the grapes for this wine vary in age from 9 to 27 and are grown on granite and loamy soils. After harvesting, the grapes were destemmed before approximately 6 hours skin contact to improve the flavor and texture of the resulting wine. Gentle pressing in a pneumatic “tank” press, then cold settled for 2 days before being racked and inoculated with selected yeasts. All the vineyard blocks were kept separate and fermentation took place between 12-16°C.

This wine has won lots of awards (received 4 Stars in the 2010 Platter’s South African Wine Guide, scored 89 points in the Wine Enthusiast Editor’s Choice Award and received Top Stellenbosch District Terroir Award at the 2010 SA Terroir Wine Awards), and the oak content ensures that this is most definitly a food wine and can also  be enjoyed as an aperitif! The selling cost for this is around £11.50 – enjoy!

Umbrele Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Romania

Umbrele Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Romania

This wine from Romania is the first Sauvignon Blanc from here that I have tasted, and at the price (£5.99) I can only say that it is good value. A spritzy start where the acidity is quite high so the wine fruitiness was fresh and zesty, the alcohol was a little higher than expected but felt only a little warm and quite well integrated. The aromas of the wine lay in the area of pear drops and galia melon, and these followed through to the taste, but in addition banana flavours and a very sweet start which had reminiscencse of boiled sweets, led to a pear drop finish which was short. The wine is produced at the Cramele Recas and uses state of the art technology to produce wines (the winery has been fully fitted out with stainless steel , automatic temperature controlled tanks for fermenting and storing the wine, best possible equipment for  crushing, destemming, pressing the grapes etc ) and in the last 10 years, both the vineyard and winery have been completely, and exhaustively modernised in order to be able to fully control the production process using the latest methods, this means alot of the vines that are grown are under 10 years old with over 600 hectares have been re-planted already using the vine stock from France and Italy. The winemakers are Hartley Smithers from Australia, and Nora Iriate from Spain

Cousino Macul Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from the Central Valley in Chile

Cousino Macul Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from the Central Valley in Chile

 This is a wine I have tasted in Chile at Cousino Macul – a different vintage, but similar in style, this again is a wine that would benefit from cooler climes to preserve both the acidity and fruit aromas/flavours. It is pale lemon and crystal clear as expected with aromas of melon, green apple and grass over-tones.It also has some biscuit nuance – which was unexpected.

The acidity was merely medium not enough to keep the fruit fresh and clean, and the body felt quite heavy and clunky.  Flavours of grass, citric flavours which include lime and grapefruit, have a medium to long finish which stays reasonably fresh until the end.

My overall thoughts on this wine are – fresh and fruity but could have been fresher and fruitier if the grapes had come from a cooler area.

Soul Tree Sauvignon Blanc 2011 India

Soul Tree Sauvignon Blanc 2011 India

This is a Sauvignon Blanc from India grown at an altitude of 1870ft on a plateau near India’s West Coast, and although it does have a lot of Sauvignon character, it seems heavy and clunky. The clean pale lemon core promised much, when you popped your nose in the glass the Pear Drop aromas together with characteristic Elderflower were quite intense, and again I was hopeful, but the wine in the mouth was heavy and angular and what started as grassy with some gooseberry and kiwi  had a medium, long citric bite at the end. The acidity was lower than I expected but the alcohol felt in balance. Overall this is wine that is good while on holiday in India, but back home one has better choices at the price ( £8.50+). This wine originates east of the city of Nasik ,  4 hour drive or a more sedate 3 hour train journey from Mumbai and the winery is modern producing over 80% of the Indian wine produced in the country, it is up in the hills that which helps to preserve some of the fruit flavours, but in this case not enough to maintain fresh acidity.  

Chateau de la Chartreuse Sauternes 2006

Chateau de la Chartreuse Sauternes 2006
A really lovely sweetie from Bordeaux, made from the grapes sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle, typical for this type of wine from the sauternes area on the left bank in Bordeaux, affected by noble rot or Botrytis Cinera, which gives it a characteristic aroma and taste of honey, oranges, apples, pears and a little butteriness. Golden in colour due to its oak maturation and thick and syrupy, it has plenty of acidity to make this luscious wine very drinkable - not sickly or too sweet, great with blue cheese, foie gras and even as an aperitif, for me - the wine that says christmas pudding to me!

A half bottle of this will set you back £15, but with the grapes low yield and the wonder of wether it will be affected by the botrytis fungi at all, the time in oak, the intensity of human picking time ( this needs to be hand picked with a number of times called 'tries' through the vineyard each time only taking the affected berries.....) one wonders why it does not cost more.
I love to sit after a long hard day with a small glass of fridge cool Sauternes before I start the evening meal, somehow the world seems a better place!

Sirius Bordeaux Blanc 2010

Sirius Bordeaux Blanc 2010

Sirius Wine was the first wine made by one of the big French Wine merchants / negociants Maison Sichel, and they started back in 1985 in the commune Canton de Saint Macaire. What they wanted to do was to make a wine from a lesser area in the way that the top wine makers do, so showing that although terroir plays its part.... so does the wine making! Making a wine surpass its origin in effect.

 First produced in 1985, careful selection after machine harvesting,skin maceration of the sauvignon blanc, barrel fermented with lees stirring 2-3 times per week, and barrel maturation for 2-3 months in the same way that the grand cru classe's of Graves and Pessac-Leognan, so placing it in a top quality category.

The Sirius brand is a flagship of Maison Sichel and is considered a niche wine with only 200 000 bottles of the white wine made and 500 000 of the red. 19ha of vines ( semillon and sauvignon blanc ) which are 30 years old are planted in clay/limestone soils on the banks of the Garonne River.

The blend is 50:50 Semillon : Sauvignon Blanc,  is very pale with a slight greenness to the rim, the legs are slow and thick as would be expected from the semillon content. Aromas of green apples, citric overtones and a hint of pear and white blossom. On the mouth a silky mouth feel but clean and dry, once more citric and crisp apple abound with fresh acidity and a creamyness due to the lees stirring, well balanced alcohol and a clean citric finish, again a lovely wine at the price of about £9.95. Summer time in a glass or great as an aperitif all year round.

Hauts de Bel Air

Hauts de Bel-Air Blanc 2011 a Sauvignon Blanc made by the Sichel group in 2011, a property in Bordeaux was set up in 1967 which uses rigorous selection of the grapes to make a lovely fresh zingy wine with aromas of apricot, pear and a touch of grapefruit. There is a good length finishing with  grapefruit and citric skin. A great summer slurp - aperitif or just to glug at a barbacue!