Today’s post takes on a competitive edge.
I have reviewed a range of supermarket sauvignon blancs around the same price and which are rated highly by customers, to establish which I think are the best.
In truth, none were serious backmarkers, and all reached a fully acceptable level of quality.
However, three did stand out from the rest in my opinion and are wines you can buy with an extra slice of confidence.
Once again, pictures and hyperlinks are included where possible to make it easier to track down the wine in question.
First, though, the background
New Zealand’s sauvignon blanc is a remarkable success story – and created a major household favourite in almost record time.
That road to popularity began with experimental plantings of vines in Marlborough’s often stony soils during the early 1970s.
Within a decade, the distinctive New Zealand sauvignon style had emerged – intensely aromatic wines bursting with passionfruit, gooseberry and freshly cut grass components.
As well as vibrant tropical fruit flavours skilfully counterbalanced by zingy acidity, it also provided approachability – allowing drinkers to enjoy them from the moment the bottle was opened.
That flavour range was a major change from the restrained expressions from France’s Loire Valley that had held sway until then.
It turned out that New Zealand’s South Island (and especially Marlborough) enjoyed a perfect combination of long hours of sunshine tempered by cool maritime breezes that sauvignon vines loved.
Consequently, it was ideal for the creation of wines with intensity that, nevertheless, preserved a crisp freshness.
But what about prices?
Prices can be an issue since producing wine like that to compete with bargain basement options is very difficult.
As is often pointed out, in the UK fixed costs plus duty and VAT take up a substantial portion of any bottle’s price.
In reality, the lowest NZ sauvignon pivotal point (where value and quality converge) probably sits in a narrow band either side of £10.
At the (nowadays mythical) £5 point, it is calculated that only about 50 pence actually goes towards the wine itself.
But, spend £10 and the wine’s value rises to around £3—six times more for twice the money.
That price point opens the door for wines of genuine concentration and character – rather than simply commercial adequacy.
For that reason, it is the target area for today’s post.
It is a price range that allows New Zealand’s excellent producers to command something approaching a fair return without premium pricing.
But, with no more ado, the Gold Award goes to …
2023 Deluxe New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (£8.49 at Lidl but £7.99 in some stores and 12.5% abv):
Right from the start it has stimulating aromas which provide a vibrant mouth feel to accentuate and energise the central textured melon, apple and tropical fruit flavours on display.
That foundation is supplemented by lively lime acidity together with traces of herbs and of minerals.
The worthy runners-up.
2024 Taste the Difference Coolwater Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (£8.25 – down from £9.75 until 28 October with a Nectar Card – at Sainsbury’s and 12.5%):
Here, the aromas are more subtle (and have tropical fruit elements as their base) and the acidity, while equally assertive, has pithy grapefruit influences rather than lime based ones.
The main flavours exhibit passionfruit and gooseberry elements but match the apple and the savoury constituents of the Lidl offering.
And the other impressive runner-up
2024 Yealands Sauvignon Blanc (£8.50 – down from £10.50 until 30 November – with a Morrisons Loyalty Card and 12.5%):
Again, the aromas are more muted here, but the vibrant acidity has both grapefruit and lime aspects.
As for flavours, I detected mango and apricot influences but the texture is soft with enhancing support provided by herbal and mineral traces.
A common feature.
Perhaps it is my taste buds, but it does seem significant that all three of these chosen wines have strong associations with the Awatere Valley.
Wines from that area do have different elements to those from other parts of Marlborough.
The curious should try an example from each, side by side, to see which best suits them.
What is clear, though, is that all these winners are obviously the product of skilled winemaking.
Two are made by the Yealands operation while the third (the Lidl option) is from a very talented winemaker with a sustained history of work at Villa Maria.
If you share my high regard for the winners, then looking for Awatere Valley on New Zealand sauvignon wine labels may a worthwhile part of your selection processes.
After today’s very focussed exercise, it’s back to a broader look at great value fare in Monday’s Top Tip selections.
12 responses
Hi Brian my partner is particularly fond of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and we have tried and liked all of your selections. In fact I stocked up when Lidl had their offer on the deluxe range where they were if my memory serves me correctly down to £4.99.
Two of our favourites are Villa Maria and Brancott Estate and our strategy is to make the most of supermarket deals which with double dip often brings the price down around £6.50.
Another favourite is Grove Mill which has slightly subdued acidity with a palate of melon and stone fruit, that has been regularly on special with Co-op at £8.50.
Difficult to keep the price under £10 so keep up the good work I always look forward to your suggestions, last night we tried the Rosario Viosinho which was excellent.
I agree about Grove Mill, Barry, but it is not as widely available as the others. It may be me, but the wines I selected did out-perform several of the popular branded options – although all were fine in themselves; the difference between 9 out of ten and 8. Pleased to hear that the Viosinho worked for you. I feared that it might be a bit “left field”, so pleased that at least one other household is enthusing over it.
Thanks for highlighting the Awatdre Valley origins of your three favourites Brian. I used to bemoan the uniformity of New World wines but it is great to see many special terriors being identified giving specific grapes that extra personality.
My “go to” favourite NZ SB is Villa Maria. It’s normally £10.50 in Tesco but I look out for it coming down to £8.50 for Clubcard holders. However it may be a bit “in your face” for some drinkers, though that’s what I love about it.
Hi Brian, Surprised you didn’t include Waitrose Blueprint NZ Sauvignon Blanc. I’m generally far from a fan of these wines but – as duty called – gave it a go at a recent tasting and thought it fantastic value at £7.90. And – a first for a NZ SB – a wine I would buy again!
Thanks Brian for an alternative take on NZ Sovee those from the Awatere Valley, I actually had a bottle from Marlborough last night ordered online from Adnams, and I enjoyed it, but my problem with NZ Sovee B is that there’s just too much of it around, all very samey. I know it’s still very popular, especially with my wife, who loves it, but I do prefer the slightly restrained Sovees from other countries; a lot of Marlborough wines are just a bit too in your face and intense with that vibrant acidity. Comparing it in musical terms, it’s a bit like Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ heard it too many times, it seems to be everywhere, I call it ear fatigue, so my problem with NZ Sovee’s, although I still drink it occasionally, is that intensity and mouth-puckering acidity, so for me it a case of slight mouth fatigue. I still recognise the obsession people have with Marlborough Sovee’s and get a good one, it can be enjoyable.
I’ve tasted all three of the ones Brian highlights, and they are all very good, so good choices but as I said earlier I tend to buy NZ Sovee as it’s my wife’s favourite.
Hi Brian, most informative post, thanks.
I sympathise with Dave’s comment above. I do wonder whether it’s a parallel case of ABC (anything but Chardonnay), i.e NZ SB gets a bad press because it’s become a “safe bet” so gets over-bought and over-drunk.
However like Chardonnay – “I don’t like Chardonnay but I do like Chablis or Blanc de Blanc Champagne”. Not all NZ ABs are the same.
At tastings, where one has the advantage of seeing the acidity and residual sugar levels, one can predict the SB style. Some are pretty high and leads to the sort of SB that Dave’s wife loves! From time to time when I haven’t drunk a NZ SB for quite a while, and am served up that style, served cold, I love it! In the same way I love an Asti Spumante, or a really cold inexpensive Vinho Verde. But, like a naughty treat, I wouldn’t want any of these again for a couple of months!
But Brian’s comment prompted me to remember an Awatere Valley example that I tried recently:
2024 Exceptional by Asda Awatere Sauvignon Blanc.
This was 13% ABV, a low 2.8g/L residual sugar @ £10.75. It has 7.5% fermented in old French oak for 5 months, the rest in Stainless Steel with 5 months on lees. It had the most lovely nose and was a really serious & classy SB. Now if there was a 25% deal, that would be a great buy. Perhaps Dave could sneak a bottle in, and bring harmony to the Cronin household?
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Riverblock SB 2023 was awarded an IWC 2025 Gold and best value award this year. Am curious to know if anybody here has tried it. Is its absence here an indication that its award isn’t quite deserved?
With hundreds of wines available, an analysis like this can only look at a limited number. I mainly chose ones with highest customer star ratings for a closer look. Then I could give subscribers a steer towards wines I – and others – considered they could feel super-confident about buying.
Riverblock (and many, many more) was not one of those considered so it would be a little unfair to draw conclusions from its omission. If it won a gold award at IWSC, then you can be sure it is of significantly above average quality and well worth trying – perhaps alongside the Coolwater Bay to see which appeals most to your own taste buds.
Hi Mark
I’ve tasted the Riverblock and it was pleasant enough, I’d say a typical Malborough Sovee with the usual flavour profile but perhaps with a little more texture from contact on Lees.
For those who like the SB dial turned down a notch and of more interest, then Sainsbury’s Plaimont Côtes De Gascogne Colombard Sauvignon Blanc White Wine at £7.25 Nectar card price and at present on double dip 25% off six is a real winner.
Totally agree about the Côtes De Gascogne, Paul, and Producteurs Plaimont in particular. With the world completely won over by the intense flavour and aromatic profile of New World SB and NZ struggling to plant vines quick enough to meet demand the Côtes de Gascogne stepped in to provide the ideal substitute. And although growers here have been hastily planting Sauvignon too it is traditional local varieties such as Colombard, Gros Manseng and Ugni Blanc they have so successfully exploited to replicate the zesty, tropical and refreshing flavours drinkers desire.
Tesco Finest Cotes De Gascogne (£7.50) and Pujalet Côtes De Gascogne (£8.50 at Waitrose) are also Plaimont wines. As Helen McGuinn wrote some time ago, CdG whites are “fresh as a daisy and full of lemony loveliness”.