~US$20, 100% Sauvignon Blanc, San Antonio Valley, Chile

Chile? No doubt this is exciting wine - in theory and practice. Take a white grape indigenous to the Loire valley and Bordeaux, put it in an even more exotic locale than New Zealand…say…mountainous granite slopes in Chile, facing the Pacific, and see what happens.

Pours very pale straw. Big nose hopping out of the glass…almost un-enticing, smokey diesel fumes at first, followed by more appealing broccoli, bell pepper, snap-peas and granny smith apples.

Smooth approach in the mouth, but a big wide spread of high-toned fruit (and vegetables) on the mid-palate. Lots of jalapeno pepper and wet stones. Sharp acidity closes the deal in a clean, mouthwatering finish. Tons of tartness here and quite a bit of funk alongside it - like a  “Garden” flavored Sour-Patch Kid (that probably didn’t do well in the focus groups).

The remarkable acidity and flavor intensity make this an intriguing pairing wine….Toro/Fatty tuna sashimi would be a perfect partner. It would rock with an avocado or simple guacamole. Or with a warm bacon salad.

This is a wine of serious personality and will be polarizing to many folks out there. It’s no tropical patio-pounder sauv-blanc. But I’m not sure if it’s a 95-point, genre-defining, or profound expression of the grape either. It’s just a well-crafted wine demonstrating that the old- and new-worlds can collide in totally unexpected ways and produce wines of character and value.

~$18US, 100% Saugivnon Blanc, Stellenbosch South Africa

My hunt for weird and wild white wines takes me to South Africa, this time to one of Stellenbosh’s top producers, Mulderbosch. This wine has been noted as a prime example of Southern Hemisphere Sauv Blanc, so I thought I’d see how it stacked up against the Loire and New Zealand companions I’ve had in the past (I embarrassingly haven’t had a white Bordeaux example yet).

Very pale yellow color. Aromatically complex and unusual, with extreme green vegetable action. Lime pips, bell pepper, and peas. Very bright and high-toned on the palate with lime, green apple. and jalepeno peppers. The acidity is so fresh it’s spicy through the midpalate. Very focused and precise. Crispy finish bursting with chalk and grass. Like a gravel ceviche.

Overall a wild ride through the vegetable garden - you usually don’t get this complexity and uniqueness below 20 bones - in the Loire, or beyond. This is not a wine for everyone, but I’m loving it for the nose alone. I wouldn’t pair it with anything acidic - probably softer sweeter cheeses, asparagus, and oysters.

Update: After 24 hours, the wine loosened up considerably - so much that it fell apart - the spike of acidity was too aggressive as the rest of the fruit softened.  Sharp and disjointed.

~$20US, 100% Sauvignon Blanc, Pouilly-Fume, Loire Valley France.

My first Pouilly-Fumé. Very very pale green-yellow in color. Surpisingly aromatic - guava, mango, grapefruit, fresh-cut-grass, and playground gravel on the nose. Explosive and expansive mouthfeel - like a spikey balloon expanding in your mouth - scintillating with spicy acidity on the outside yet round and viscous inside. Gunpowder keeps coming to mind. Very fresh, crisp, and bracing - dry in style, but very ripe fruit flavors balance the deal. It reminded me of a hypothetical mix - a dash of new-world Viognier and a bone-dry, austere Mosel Riesling - but zingier. Long, chalky finish.

To my tastes, this simply outclasses the New Zealand wines of the variety that I have tried (including some at this price and above) in terms of complexity - with the gravelly flinty bits and a the hint of (signature) smoke and great fruit. I’d love this with grilled fish, shellfish, or goat cheese salads. Seek this out if you’ve never had an old-world SB - you’ll be rewarded.

~US$20 100% Sauvigonon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

How does a great Sauvignon Blanc drink after 5 years?

Color: Very pale, some tiny bubbles
Nose: Fragrant - Mangos, pineapple, green tomatoes, some creamy notes as well
Palate: A flash of bright, fresh acidity, more mango and pineapple, canned sweet peas (Le Sueur) showing big on the midpalate
Finish: Short and abrupt, Asian plum candy

I have to admit, I haven’t had too many NZ Sauv blancs older than a few years, but I feel that this Isabel was unfortunately past it’s prime. While the nose showed a typical tropical flair, with some interesting green vegetable notes, the palate fell flat. The youthful zest and zing I usually expect with this wine was absent, and little else developed in it’s place. I hope to try an ‘06 to compare.