Montana Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

I felt a like a Sauvignon Blanc last night to go with my chef's salad. It's been ages since I've had one, and I was looking for something that would be cheap but good. Montana is pretty reliable, and this one is 33% off at Sainsbury's.

This is also my first taste of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from the 2009 vintage, which I have been curious about. 2008 suffered from overcropping, and a resultant flooding of the market with cheap (and sometimes dilute) wine. I was interested to see if anything was done in 2009 to avoid this issue.

The Montana website says 'A lot of work was carried out in the vineyard to control the quantity of grapes at harvest and the result has been fruit with excellent levels of concentration.' So I guess measures were taken to avoid overcropping, but did it make any difference?

The short answer is I don't really know (useful I know). I have been avoiding Sauvignon Blanc for some reason, I think because I was into it a couple of years ago, and have just been concentrating on other white varieties (chiefly Riesling). Basically I don't have much of a reference point to compare this 2009 wine to.

Considering the wine was from the 'reserve' range, which is described as 'super-premium' by Montana, I was expecting a bit more in terms of concentration. I enjoyed it overall however, and I think it was good for £6.

Montana

Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Malborough, New Zealand

Sainsbury's

£6.09 (£9.14)

3/5