The Vidal Sauvignon Blanc was excellently priced and garnered great reviews on Vivino so I thought why not celebrate International Sauvignon Blanc day and try this little gem of a bottle.

The story of how Vidal Estate came to be is an interesting one. Anthony Vidal left his native Barcelona and arrived in New Zealand in 1888 with barely a penny to his name. He teamed up with his uncle, Joseph Soler, who had already established himself in New Zealand and learned everything he could from him.

After the odd hiccup here and there, Anthony founded his own vineyard in Hawkes Bay in 1905 and they’ve been producing wine ever since.

It was a really good wine this. Upon opening the cap, I was hit with the pleasant smell of pineapples and after that I just knew I was going to enjoy it. The wine was pale lemon in the glass and aromas of pineapple permeated from within. There was plenty of pineapple on the palate too and it was coupled with herb notes that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. It was almost like freshly cut grass but in a good way. The wine opened up after 20 minutes and the pineapple gave way to notes of citrus fruit and clementine. The wine was dry and very acidic too; I could not stop swallowing even after the wine had long disappeared down my throat!

As with most Sauvignon Blanc’s from Marlborough, it is easily accessible and very well priced (I paid the strange price of £10.59). More importantly though, I really enjoyed it and it wasn’t long before the bottle had gone. This is the wine that has opened my eyes to Sauvignon Blanc and I’ll no doubt be looking for similar little gems like this in the future!