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The Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 sells at Costco for $13.89, on the web for an average of $17, and for $21 on the Spy Valley website. Spy Valley is a family-owned winery founded in the 1990s in the Waihopai Valley in Marlborough of New Zealand’s South Island.
This is an extremely rural, isolated location and there is an International satellite communication center, hence the nickname Spy Valley. This Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from Spy Valley vineyards, along with “friend” vineyards in the Wairau Valley, also in Marlborough.
The Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is sustainably produced and Spy Valley production notes tell us that these wines received the Appellation Marlborough Wine’s 2022 Annual Collection award. This indicates that Spy Valley wines are the benchmark all Malborough wines should strive for.
The New Zealand growing season is reversed from that of the US so while a 2022 vintage wine is a young wine, the grapes were picked last spring and the wine was produced in early summer.
Most NZ Sauvignon Blanc in this price range are fermented in stainless steel vats, but the Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 also used old oak barrels for a portion of the wines. Stainless steel does not allow for any air transfer, while oak barrels will allow a tiny amount of air into the wine.
Several different yeasts were used to start the fermentation of the various lots of wine. Each variety of yeast has its own individual characteristics that it imparts into the wine. The alcohol content is a mild 12.5%.
The Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is an extremely pale wheat yellow. The nose is melon, lemon, peach, green apple, pear, guava, a hint of spice, and spring flowers. The Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a dry, smooth, flavorful wine, that little bit of oak barrels fermentation seems to have smoothed off some of the peaks of flavor.
This Sauvignon Blanc tastes like dried pineapple pieces, lemon, ripe peach, Anjou pear, apple, and a pleasing slap of spice. The mid-palate brings lime, a salty sensation, nectarine, and faint tangerine.
The acidity is excellent, it allows the flavors to completely unfold and gives this wine length.
The Summary
- The Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is an excellent wine and a Sauv Blanc well worth seeking out.
- This is a bang-for-he-buck wine.
- It is also Vegan friendly.
