The best New Zealand sauvignons — picked by our wine expert

While snooty drinkers sneer at Kiwi savvy, the rest of us just cannot get enough of its sweet yet sparky, passion fruit charms. Sauvignon blanc is our most popular white wine grape by far, selling almost twice as much as pinot grigio in second place. More impressive still in these straitened times is just how much we spend on our favourite white — more than £8 a pop; way more than the £6.75 average UK spend on a bottle of wine. The only wine country we splash more cash on is France, at an average of £8.44 a bottle.

With sauvignon sales continuing to grow — responsible for 80 per cent of New Zealand’s output — it’s worth noting that the only other grape in growth in the UK is Spain’s tempranillo.

Alas, it’s also true that down at the bargain basement, bulk wine level there are plenty of cheap, sweet, sweaty and jaw breakingly dull New Zealand sauvignons. Yet in my tasting book, the steady arrival of high-end, regional and single vineyard, crisp, complex New Zealand sauvignon blancs, fermented and aged in oak, with their own natural yeasts present on the surface of the grape skins, more than makes up. The 2018 Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW), protecting the authenticity of sauvignon grown exclusively in New Zealand’s largest wine-producing region, where the sunny days and cool nights bring out the best in the variety, has also raised standards.

Not all Kiwi sauvignon blanc tastes the same, despite the bright, pungent, razor-sharp, tropical fruit note that most display. Marlborough is a sprawling patchwork of sub-regions, with three main zones: cool, breezy, coastal Awatere and Blind River, with herbaceous, saline, citrus sauvignons; Wairau valley to the north is more intense and tropically fruited; and to the south the clay soil Southern Coast sauvignons have more grass and gooseberry notes.

Cloudy Bay started the savvy stampede back in 1985 and its Wairau valley, stainless steel-fermented 2025 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon (Waitrose, £26.50), with a dab fermented in old French oak, is a zesty, lime, tomato leaf and new-mown grass cracker. Or spend the same sum on my favourite 2023 Greywacke Wild Yeast Sauvignon, from Wairau and the Southern Valleys, aged in old French oak for almost a year and a showstopper of a rich, verdant, toasty, quince and lemon wallop (vinvm.co.uk, £26.60).

Lighter alcohol sauvignons are having a moment and the 2025 Lawson’s Dry Hills Sauvignon from Blind River is just 9 per cent and bursting with tart, refreshing, lemon grass pizzazz (thewinesociety.com, £9.25). Finally, don’t ignore a consistently good bargain blend that I for one have drunk deep of, Villa Maria’s easy-swigging, soft, grapefruit and passion fruit-licked 2025 Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon, (Waitrose, just £8.25, down from £11).

Kiwi stars2024 Exceptional by Asda Awatere Sauvignon Blanc

13 per cent, Asda, £10
A bright, breezy, nettle, green pepper and citrus-styled, Awatere valley gem, with a dab of French oak.

2024 Freeman’s Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

12.5 per cent, Aldi, £7.69
Freeman’s Bay’s rich, verdant, flowering currant gold label is way better than the cheaper white label.

2024 Jackson Estate Stich Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough

13.5 per cent, Waitrose, £11, down from £15
A canny, multi-vineyard, mature vine Marlborough sauvignon, with sparky, gooseberry and lime zest fruit.

2020 Dog Point Section 94 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

14 per cent, vinvm.co.uk, £26.50
Fermented and aged in old French oak, Section 94 bursts with complex, yeasty, mineral, green herb fruit.

This week’s best buys2023 Morgon, Maison Jean-Marc Aujoux, France

13.5 per cent, thewinesociety.com, £13.50
Cheer up a dull day with an unoaked, ripe, zingy, yet tender, plummy beaujolais from a leading merchant.

2024 Famille Lafont Gigondas, France

14.5 per cent, Tesco, £18
My kind of gigondas: bold but not brutish, with lots of rustic, earthy, baked, spiced black plum fruit.

2024 Cono Sur Bicicleta Viognier, Chile

11 per cent, Sainsbury’s, £6.25, down from £8
Lower alcohol but this unoaked, stainless steel-aged, fat, spicy, yellow peach-packed viognier is an off-dry gem.

2022 Rioja Crianza Cepa Lebrel, Spain

14 per cent, Lidl, £5.79
A dirt cheap, mature, oaky, leathery, red rioja with the scented vanilla spice that woodheads adore.