Pleasant Surprise

There was an additional bottle of wine the evening of the Grange discussed below, and it was the first bottle of the evening which we drank while cooking the lamb and letting the Grange breathe.

Over the last few years I stayed away from New Zealand wines, not because they were bad, but because the reasonably priced ones we seem to get in this area all tasted mostly alike.  Another reason was that when I started drinking them a good, basic and tasty one was $10 to $12.  Now they are mostly in the $20 range. With that said it should be apparent that I didn't purchase the 2011 Greywacke 2011 Sauvignon Blanc pictured above.  The wine is from New Zealand's Marlborough region.

The wine was fresh and pert on the nose with aromas of spring grass and flowers.  Good acid gave the wine a tart mouth feel that was full of mild fruit flavors and grass and herbs.  The cat pee smell that New Zealand sauvignon blancs are famous (infamous) for was missing.  The wine made a good start to the evening, especially with some shrimp and cheese to munch on while the lamb cooked and rested.

Greywacke Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.  13.5% alcohol and $20.