A couple of classics for you today.
The white is from an area transformed from mainly sheep rearing southern hemisphere countryside into a wine related household name – Marlborough.
It did so by creating a style that added to (and sometimes surpassed) the versions that, until then, were considered the limits of what sauvignon blanc could offer.
The red picks up on a country enjoying increased success with entry point pinot noir – Chile.
Both wines are normally priced around the current £10 “sweet spot” but are discounted by 20% or so for the first part of this month.
I hope that the flavours they provide prove as welcome as the money you will save by buying them now.
In the usual way, pictures are used where possible to help you locate the bottle in question but there are no hyperlinks this time.
First, the sauvignon
2024 Best Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (£8 – instead of £10 until 18 May – with a Morrisons Loyalty Card and 13% abv):
Looking for a well-priced, nicely configured, archetype New Zealand sauvignon of above average quality?
If so, snap up this mouth-wateringly crisp example while its 20% discount lasts.
Expect sweet pea aromas, concentrated gooseberry and lime flavours, vibrant acidity, plus refreshing mint, grassy and rosemary traces.
It provides a textbook example of classy Marlborough sauvignon but, currently, at a wallet-friendly price.
Then onto that pinot noir
2024 Errazuriz Reserva Pinot Noir (£7.50 – instead of £9.50 until 19 May – at Tesco and 13.5% abv):
Enjoy this value-packed Chilean pinot noir that bursts with soft strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavours.
Equally, though, pinot’s signature elements also appear – especially subtle earthiness, violet influences and evidence of oak aging over several months.
Being from the Aconcagua Valley (Errazuriz’s homeland incidentally) the wine benefits from the major day-night temperature variations there.
Hot days help ripening while cool nights ensure enough acidity remains for the resulting wine to be fresh and lively.
See you again on Thursday when I take a closer look at inexpensive pinot noir.
3 responses
Agree that Errazuriz is a solid, reliable producer; trading up a few pounds, the Wild Ferment Pinot is more complex and interesting: https://medium.com/@tomsk71/three-chillable-reds-for-late-summer-43db694ffd9d
Their Wild Ferment Chardonnay is superb too
Viña Errazuriz was founded by the magnificently monikered Don Maximiano in 1870 in the Aconcagua river valley squeezed between the Pacific Ocean and the high Andes.
Errazuriz’s high altitude vineyards are names MAX 1, MAX 2 etc.
Mount Aconcagua at 22,838 ft is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalaya and Karakoram.
The biggest threat to Chile wine makers is climate change- basically they have had a drought since 2010, with a brief respite in 2023-if you can call a “respite” of devastating wildfires followed by flooding.
On present trends nearby Santiago capital will run out of water by 2040.
Errazuriz use a highly sophisticated drip irrigation system with humidity sensors and inter row vegetation to prevent soil erosion.
The other big problem is that Chile is producing far more wine than it can sell at the moment and is in the throes of a big vine pull.
It is our good fortune that we can enjoy true to terroir quality wines at a good price from a (still) family run estate.