Before Sue Courtney left our humble abode recently, in an act of incredible generosity she arranged to have a case+ of New Zealand favorites sent to us featuring many of her favorite NZ whites in particular the full-bodied, intense "wild" styles of sauvignon blanc made by producers like Cloudy Bay, Jules Taylor, Giesen, Dog Point and Greywacke. They make these wild versions in addition to their standard style of sauvignon blanc. We bonded on this style when I opened for her a Russ Bevan Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma, an outlier of a wine that marries opulence, intensity and natural winemaking into the most unique Sauvignon Blanc I've ever experienced.
The two men originally responsible for Cloudy Bay started making this extra version of Sauvignon Blanc back in the early 90's, per Sue. They were James Healy and Kevin Judd, neither of whom are still with the brand but who have struck out on their own with the labels Dog Point and Greywacke respectively.
Although we've been drinking Burgundy exclusively in anticipation of an upcoming trip, I just couldn't wait to taste one of these wines Sue sent so the other night I snuck in a 2013 Greywacke Wild. By "snuck in", I mean I served it blind to my husband, who picked up his glass expecting a Chablis and found this instead, a switcheroo akin to expecting to get on a gentle horse and finding yourself on a bucking bull instead. He first observation was entirely visceral: "Holy shit! This is AMAZING!"
It's quite stunning. Maxes out on body unlike anything I've seen in a NZ Sauv Blanc before, fruit and herbaceousness with gooseberry, white grapefruit, green apple, kaffir lime leaf, tarragon, new mown hay and cat pee. It's concentrated, intense and, well, wild! If you love Sauvignon Blanc, you have to seek out these wines.
Btw, Washington winery Efeste is following New Zealand's example and making two Sauv Blancs in each vintage. I can't remember of the normal one has a name but the other one is called 'Feral', a name that signals something raw and unleashed, something I understood from the name alone which is why I first bought the wine though I had no idea at the time that they also made a non-Feral version. I hope other American wineries follow suit.