Wine Tasting: Kim Crawford 2023 Sauvignon Blanc

Hello wine bloggers! This tasting features the Kim Crawford 2023 Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. This bottle is valued around $18.00 on the Wine Transit website. It is also valued at $24.99 on Shopwinedirect online. I did not purchase this bottle, a friend's parent gifted it to me, so I do not know their purchase price.  

I was super excited to try this sauvignon blanc because it was from New Zealand, and that is where the sauvignon blanc is known to be characterized by cat pee.  Wine Folly, page 166, discusses how sauvignon blanc is New Zealand's most important grape. Marlborough is also the top region for this grape.  The traits characterized for New Zealand on this page are passionfruit, kiwi, pea shoot, jasmine, and ripe pear.

Wine Enthusiast rates this wine an 87.  Christina Pickard says, "Intense aromas of peach, lime, guava and tomato leaf are followed by a dry, zippy palate with a ping of bright acidity and a slight creaminess to the mouthfeel." However, I had a very different experience of this wine.  

Personally, I thought this wine smelled like lemongrass, a hint of cat pee, melon, and honey.  The taste was not very sweet, with hints of lemon, honeydew melon, honey, and grass. The wine had medium-high acidity with low tannins.  This sauvignon blanc felt less buttery than the classic California ones, and I really enjoyed this wine because it was not very sweet at all.