2009 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc

The last couple days I've been drinking a 2009 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough region.

This bottle ran me in the $22 range, more than I usually pay for a SB but the price reflects the higher quality in this case.

The nose wasn't anything out of the ordinary, it smelled like your usual SB.  The taste is what makes the difference.  The flavors are much more subtle and multidimensional than in the $10-20 range SBs.  The bottle label lists notes of gooseberry and 'ripe tropical aromas'.  I got vanilla, I think, as well as a hit of citrus on the back of my throat.

The label also boasts of a long finish.  This is one of the few I've drunk where I can say I got that.  I try not to keep a partial bottle in the fridge very long (especially at this price point), but this SB held up well overnight.  It didn't taste like a $10 bottle the next day.

A very nice SB; I'd buy it again for a special dinner or occasion.