Terre a Terre Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Wrattonbully, SA)
$24, Screwcap, 12.7%
Source: Sample
http://www.terroir-selections.com.au/
This is so new that the website isn’t even operational yet.
It’s a product of Xavier Bizot, the thoughtful French winemaker who, along with wife Lucy, helps back Brian Croser’s superstar-in-the-making wine brand Tapanappa (have a read of more on the Tapanappa range here).
While Tapanappa is very much Brian’s baby, this new label is Xavier & Lucy’s – if again using fruit from Wrattonbully.
Personality wise, this wine shows its Franco-Australian origins, having been produced in a French style, by a French winemaker, from French Sauvignon clones, whilst obviously being produced from Aussie Wrattonbully grapes.
That French/Aussie mashup theme starts in the glass, the colour greenish and brightly Australian. It smells somewhat new worldish too, with lift and apparent freshness, blending passionfruit varietal characters (though not overt) with some whipped cream oak and lees overtones.
It’s a lovely nose actually, that I would place more in the context of the subtler oaked Kiwi Savvies than most anything produced here.
On the palate, perhaps contrastingly, is where this shows it’s frenchness: Dry and lemony, long and sour, acidity playing a big part through the finish, making for a nicely defined and textural mouthfeel of style and flavour, even if it’s a bit raw right now.
It’s a wine that I wasn’t surprised to like, but just how drinkable this is deserves mention.
Winning stuff. 18/93
Leave a Reply