Duo of SA Sauvignon Blanc: Uva Mira & Edgebaston

It’s time to make that Sauvignon Blanc decision. You have about $15 to spend. You are met with bottles from California, France, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa at your local store.

Do you appreciate some grassiness or what some so delicately describe as cat pee? If you do maybe you ought to go for the Kiwi bottle.

Are you familiar with French as a first language or are you beyond the beginner level wine drinker you can go for some Sancere. That is if you recognize the producer as being first rate, the vintage as being decent and the price as being reasonable.

Are you California dreaming then go for the weighty Cali Sauvignon Blanc, but if you’re looking for value first and foremost and prefer clean tropical fruit with some richness and fresh acidity? Then maybe Chilean SB is the answer for you.

Most days I’m looking to get a Sauvignon Blanc with ripe fruit flavors, without cat pee, with a hint of green and most importantly some stoniness or minerality that comes with a winning combination of richness and acidity. For my $15 I’m finding South Africa to bring everything I’m looking for. That being said here are two bottles that I can vouch for.

The Uva Mira 2008 Sauvignon Blanc was found at Global Wine & Spirits where they currently seem to have some decent specials on their South African stuff. Aromas of lime, gooseberry and tropical fruit jumped out of my glass during a recent picnic at Niagara Falls State Park. Simply perfect for a warm summer day and made even more perfect with the wedge of Humboldt Fog goat cheese we brought with us.

With no hint of grass or cat pee it showed ripe aromas with a rich palate. Clean from start to finish this particular wine showed almost more like the Chilean stuff I’ve had. It went over well with my friends and I’d highly recommend it.

The Edgebaston Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was bought at Prime Wines for an absurd price of $12. My first perception of this wine was that it had much more in common with Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc as the flavors didn’t get very tropical at all. On the nose subtle notes of white peach, lime, flint and wet stone made it almost difficult to place as new world Sauvignon Blanc. Only the slightest hint of green in the form of cut grass showed against the rest of the ripe fruit aromas.

Where this wine really spoke was its palate. Lean and focused with clean acidity and just enough richness to bring it all together into one cohesive tasting experience. For the money it’s one of the best value whites I’ve had from South Africa. Its charm is that I’m not sure there’s a more complex SB for the money in the region or even world at this point. And yes, that includes Chile.