The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2015

I recently had a discussion with my dad about “epiphany wines” (aka the bottle or glass that first really opened your eyes up to the awesomeness that is wine). His was Gundlach Bundschu’s Gewurztraminer that he tried based on a sommelier’s recommendation at a restaurant. It just so happened that I carried that wine at my store so he got to try it again for the first time in forever. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to his expectations all these years later, but that’s not super surprising.

I didn’t have an epiphany wine so much as I had an epiphany varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, specifically from New Zealand. I’ve mentioned the time I was down from Denton and my parents and I had a blind tasting with three different bottles of NZ Sauvignon Blanc before. What I didn’t mention is that I got back to Denton and made my friend accompany me on a trip to find a bottle of Drylands Sauv Blanc (my favorite from that evening). Thanks to Denton being a dry county there weren’t a whole lot of wine shops to choose from so we wound up driving to Dallas too. Unfortunately nowhere had it or had even heard of it so I think we picked up a bottle of Bitch Grenache (yes, just because I thought the label was hilarious) and some other New Zealand wine. It was actually a pretty fun time despite not finding the particular wine we were looking for.

Several years later I spotted Drylands at a store in San Antonio and of course had to get a bottle of it. Just like my dad with Gundlach Bundschu, I was disappointed. It just lacked the complexity I’d come to expect from that varietal and was rather bland. While it didn’t live up to my memory of it, it still wasn’t a bad bottle of wine, it’s just that by then I’d had better.

One of those better bottles is The Ned Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Unlike many NZ Sauv Blancs it’s not so in your face with grapefruit, which can get old rather quick. That’s actually why I stopped drinking or buying this varietal for quite some time (until Kye introduced me to the awesomeness that is Sancerre). It’s a medium-bodied wine that has notes of green pepper, wet grass and gooseberries on the nose. The palate is more fruit forward with lemon peel, passionfruit, and crisp green apple, and of course, a bit of grapefruit. Nicely balanced with sharp acidity and a long-ish finish. This is a super refreshing wine that is lovely by itself or paired with a wide range of dishes. While Kim Crawford and Drylands will always have a special place in my heart, this Sauvignon Blanc beats them not only in price, but also in taste.