New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

It had been some time since I opened a Sauvignon Blanc, and even longer since I opened one from New Zealand. We resolved that issue last night.

The wine came first. It was the 2008 Brancott Marlborough, and entry level wine. The wine is sold in most of the world as Montana, but someone holds the rights to that name in the U.S.

The wine was chilled slightly, hence the cloudiness in the glass here, but warmed up enough by the time the meal was ready. There was a green/gold hue to the edges in this wine and a crisp and tart bouquet of grass, herbals and some tropical aromas. The taste had all those with a little citrus mixed in. The finish was pleasant in both length and taste. There was nothing profound here, just a good food wine.

The food was a chicken breast half, skin and bone included. I made a pocket in the flesh and stuffed it with a mixture of fresh goat cheese, fresh sage and fresh lemon thyme. It was wrapped in parchment paper and roasted in the oven for 30 minutes. There were some carrots sauteed with shallots and tarragon and a small salad to complete the main course. One of the quintessential matches with sauvignon blanc is goat cheese and that was the case here. The wine moved up a notch or two with the chicken.

Dessert was a freshly made mango sorbet so the meal ended with a little more of the tropical flavor in the wine.