2009 Wise Wine Sea Urchin Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Wise wines impressed me from my first step in the door and their range is fantastic. Exceptionally palatable range, not necessarily all trophy wines but definitely very easy drinking. This in particular is very pale straw in colour and shimmers beautifully in the glass, there is a light tinge of green that is barely noticeable. Quite fragrant with a tropical fruit salad and lime dominating. The palate is soft and full with multiple layers, not as acidic as you would expect but has great length. Again tropical fruit dominate the flavours with hints of pineapple and passionfruit lingering. Overall a well rounded wine that is very fresh and very easy drinking.

What more is there to say, tropical fruit, great mouth feel, not to acidic and way, way, way to easy drinking.

James Halliday 90 points "A very pretty wine, with a mix of passionfruit and citrus on the long palate leaving the mouth as fresh as a daisy.", Ray Jordan 91 points "The beautiful texture is the thing that lifts this wine above your standard SSB. It's a terrific mouth feel with flavours exploding with tropical melon fruit overlays with a light snow pea herbaceous dusting. Crisp fine acid supports a very long finish. Excellent wine." and for me just purely for not having the depth I'd hope for 8.5 out of 10 without question.

The all important value for money. $18 at cellar door and $14.99 when I saw it at a bottle shop, you can't really go wrong. www.crackawines.com.au has the 2010 for $13.50 a bottle I'm sure you'll find this somewhere and it's worth looking for in fact if you just want an easy drinking bottle.

Although I haven't really given it a great score I still rate this wine quite highly and think at the price point its awesome. For that easy drinking bottle with friends you really can't go wrong, it will really please most palates. Go grab one if you can find one. Good luck and happy drinking

3drops 2010 Mt Barker Riesling

This wine was recommended to me by the bottle shop where I shipped some of my wine home from to fill the case. Exceptionally pale in the glass you struggle to get any colour at all, there is a very slight green hue to the straw colour in this wine. The vibrant lifted lime and mixed citrus aromas overpower the nose with light floral aromas in the background that make it a very pretty wine to smell, in fact it almost smells sweet which is quite deceiving. The palate is highly acidic which you would expect from a Riesling but is well balanced with lovely juicy lime and a great structure that just goes on and on and on. Clean and crisp this will be great both now and in a couple of years with or without food.

A great riesling, light, juicy and crisp. What more could you ask for really? If you don't like that high acidity then steer away but if you don't mind that cheek puckering affect then definitely grab a bottle.

This appears to be just one of those little boutique wines that really isn't well known and as such no formal reviews, of course the winery themselves give this a big write up. Their 09 vintage got a bronze at the international riesling challenge according to http://www.ozwinereview.com/2010/01/international-riesling-challenge-2009.html and this vintage a gold at Perth Royal Wine Show but that's about all I can find about them online. 9 out of 10 straight up on this one for me and I'd happily buy another bottle if I can find one.

If I remember rightly I paid $25 for this bottle at the bottle shop and www.mrwines.com has it at $23.99 per bottle and I believe its absolutely worth it. The Evans and Tate was slightly cheaper but this is definitely a little softer and has far less minerality.

As previously stated I'd buy this again but I kind of get the feeling I'd probably only find it at restaurants for a decent price tag I'd wager knowing the markup on alcohol in hospitality. Give it a go though if you ever see it as you'll be pleasantly surprised. Good recommendation and as such I'm happy to share it and pass on the recommendation to you. Happy drinking!

Howard Park MadFish 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Ok so this wine is another Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend which although wasn't my favourite I thought would be worth a look at. Pale straw and absolutely clear this wine is actually quite closed on the nose despite the other reviews I have read. Tropical fruit dominates the nose but there seems to be something missing in the aromas. There is something dirty about the palate with a deep rich flavours that make the wine seem as if it would be Semillon dominated, there is good length with tropical fruit again dominating but still it seems as if there is something missing. I'd have expected a crispness in the finish which doesn't seem to be there with lower than expected acidity.

In short not quite as fruity or punchy as you'd expect from a Sav Blanc dominated blend. Easy enough drinking but in honesty a little bland.

James Halliday gave this an 88 saying "Straw, tropical fruit and elements of pungent asparagus are all on show; the palate is quite deep and rich on entry, with guava and straw to conclude." which is slightly over inflated in my opinion and I end up only giving this a 7 out of 10.

Value for money this is about $18-20 and in bulk slightly less but even at that price point there probably is a better bottle out there for you with much more complexity and flavours.

Well what more is there to say?? It's a shame because I really like the Howard Park and Mad Fish selection but this one didn't float my boat. Honest enough blend but I think if you see this on the shelf you could probably look along and at the same price point find something with more zing and flavour. Not too bad if you find it at $15 or less and are only drinking it with someone who doesn't like wine but again even at that price there would be something you probably would enjoy more. Not a bad wine but just not great. Good luck and with a different bottle happy drinking.