When I started reviewing wines Sauvignon Blanc was barely a player, and the only editions hailed from the north West of France. Some of these wines has a distinctive gooseberry flavour ““ loved by some, but not others. As the grape emigrated all over the globe and found lots of fans, it seemed to lose the gooseberry quality, or maybe highly trained winemakers found a way to suppress it (orders from marketing!). We’ve come full-circle with the wine below which tastes a bit like a big fat ripe golden gooseberry ““ herbaceous, sweet and a bit exotic. But the wine is dry and refreshing and would bring something different to the cocktail hour. Or with an alfresco lunch of summer salads.
LEYDA 18 Sauvignon Blanc, Single Vineyard, Chile 99309 Vintages $16.95
P.S. The gooseberries I’ve had in Ontario tend to be small and quite sour, but the flavours in this wine remind me of the fat, juicy variety I used to steal from our neighbours garden in Ireland. So, naturally I’m loving this wine!
