The Story
The Nikau Point NZ Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from vineyards in Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island. This wine is a bit of a mystery. When I went online to check for information the company that was listed as the producer and seemed to have information concerning the Nikau Point was blocked as a malicious website.
There was a Nikau Point Reserve Sauvignon Blanc that was a single vineyards wine, actually a small section of a single vineyard. But that seems to have disappeared a few years ago. Aldi Australia sold a Nikau Point Syrah a few years ago and Nikau Point wines were available in retail wine shops. This wines producer seems to be in business, so maybe their website was temporarily hijacked, but at one-time Nikau wines looked as if they were mid-priced retail wines, along with being store brands.
Though it is odd that a winery used the same brand name on a retail and a store brand wine. There is a story on the internet about the parent company selling five vineyard properties in Hawkes Bay and other locations. So is this $5.99 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc part of a distress sale? They have, in the past, sold this label at Aldi, so creating store brands is not unusual.
At any rate, the Nikau Point Sauv Blanc seems to be a young wine, it is a 2019 vintage there could not have been too much additional aging. And that is fine with me, young, bright, juicy Sauvignon Blanc can be delicious. I do not have information on the grape sourcing, purchased grapes, estate grapes, both? The bottle says estate-bottled, which means a winery bottled the wine and since wine bottling lines are usually on the winery property, that information is not very telling.
How the Nikau Point NZ Sauvignon Blanc ended up at Trader Joe’s and does it have any relationship to the older Nikau Point Reserve label isn’t evident. But that is ok since this is a $5.99 Sauv Blanc from one of the most popular Sauvignon Blanc growing regions in the world, seemingly made in the bright, fresh, and juicy style. The alcohol content is 13%.
Nikau Point NZ Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is a pale, clean, clear, wheat yellow. The nose is not shy when I twisted the top off and poured myself a glass the aromas hit me from several feet away. There is grapefruit, guava, peach, pear, ripe apple, and a grassy sensation. This is a dry, rather tasty Sauvignon Blanc with acidity that is well controlled. It tastes of grapefruit mixed with peach juice, just when it starts to get a little too tart the peach smooths things out. followed by rounded lemon, a slap of lime, a light pear. The mid-palate offers that salty, cashew on-lees thing, along with faint banana, and melon. The acidity is balanced, sub ten dollars White wine can sometimes be on the acidic side, but the Nikau Point is fine. The finish is full and long.
The Summary
- The Nikau Point NZ Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is a very tasty, no-issues value-priced wine.
- I do not see a great deal of difference between the Nikau Point and you typical ten or twelve dollar retail store New Zealand Sauv Blanc.
- Actually, the acidity on the Nikau Point may be better controlled than your average NZ Sauvignon Blanc.
- The more I sip this wine the more I appreciate it.
- The base flavors are pleasing, but there are some overtones, flavors above the flavors, that really add a little something to the overall enjoyment.
