WTN: Best Sauvignon Blanc at NZ's Royal Easter Wine Show

[Sue Courtney]

Astrolabe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Fresh and bracing with pungent herbaceous aromas and mouthfilling flavours of green bean and capsicum over gooseberry with a slightly oily texture and plenty of limey citrus on the rich, vibrant finish with melon and tropical fruit lingering for ages on the aftertaste. A bright, clear, straw-gold coloured wine with intensity and power.

13.5% alcohol by volume according to the label and about $18.95 in NZ - if you can find it as it has won gold at three shows in NZ and trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc at two of them. It has also won a gold medal in Australia.

Made by Simon Waghorn and named after L’Astrolabe, a ship sailed by French explorer Dumont D’Urville through the Marlborough Sounds in the early 19th century.

Exported to UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland.

Cheers,
Sue

[Randy Buckner]

I've never seen their wines here. Like many of the better US wines, I bet few on them get out of the country.

I think we get a lot of your rejects, e.g. a bottling I saw -- Cat's Phee on a Gooseberry Bush 2005. No joke, although the wine may be.

[Peter May]

I think we get a lot of your rejects, e.g. a bottling I saw -- Cat's Phee on a Gooseberry Bush 2005. No joke, although the wine may be.

The only joke here is that the USA censored the wines name and insisted on an unnecessary 'h' being added

"Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush" is a very successful wine. It is a nice wine but the name is the seller. I get more emails about this wine than any other .

[Peter May]

Astrolabe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Hi Sue

I tasted this last month at a NZ tasting and very nice it was too, but no surprises.

What really did impress me were the Pinot Gris - some excellent examples.

[Randy Buckner]

The only joke here is that the USA censored the wines name and insisted on an unnecessary 'h' being added

That sounds about like the label police here. They're still in the Victorian era.

[Sue Courtney]

I've never seen their wines here. Like many of the better US wines, I bet few on them get out of the country.

I think we get a lot of your rejects, e.g. a bottling I saw -- Cat's Phee on a Gooseberry Bush 2005. No joke, although the wine may be.

So Pee has become Phee. I didn't know that. How Paphetic. Anyway last time I tasted the wine was a few years ago when there was a shortage of Marlbrough fruit. That year the Cat's Pee came from Gisborne fruit and was truly Paphetic.

Coopers Creek make the wine and are quite successful with their Puss labels, including Fat Cat Chardonnay, Tom Cat Merlot and Glamour Puss Pinot Noir. The labels have been here in NZ for a long, long time, only Glamour Puss is the more recent addition. Years ago, if you went to the winery, you could get them in a cat carry box that would act as the real thing once you took the wine out of it. They are also doing sponsorship with the label here, with a contribution from every bottle going directly to the SPCA.

BUt if you want better Sauvignon Blanc, the best stuff goes into the Coopers Creek label, and that's not bad at all.

Cheers,
Sue