Six summer wines to savor

"Sauvignon" may derive from "sauvage," French for "wild," but our experts found a half-dozen very pleasant, citrusy summer sippers among the 18 sauvignon blanc wines they tried recently.

All the recommended wines are from New Zealand, where a cool climate helps produce some of the best sauvignon blanc grapes in the world. In addition to tropical fruit and citrus notes, New Zealand sauvignon blancs often have hints of gooseberry (a very tart grape taste), herbs and grasses, and, yes, cat pee, which is an acceptable way to describe a common aroma in sauvignon blanc. (It's also known as boxwood.) They also have a lively, crisp acidity.

The other 12 wines we tested come from California, Chile, New Zealand, and Washington state. They were decent but a bit less balanced than the best, lacked fruit intensity, or had off-notes.

Sauvignon blancs go well with a wide variety of foods. New Zealand-style wines, such as those in the Ratings (available to subscribers), work with sushi, sashimi, raw-bar food, goat cheese, spicy Asian food, grilled shrimp, and fruit salad. Sauvignon blancs with fuller flavor and a woody or buttery taste (resulting from wine-making techniques) pair better with richer foods, such as poached fish in herbed white sauce, fried calamari, cheese, grilled or roasted vegetables and chicken, fruit salad, tomato bisque, and mixed-green salad with citrus wedges.

It's best to drink all of the wines in the Ratings (available to subscribers) within two years.

Bottom line

The two excellent wines in our Ratings (available to subscribers) outscored a wine that costs about twice as much. They were also top-rated the last two times we tested sauvignon blanc, in 2007 and 2009, indicating that their producers are able to consistently make high-quality wines. In our Ratings (available to subscribers) you'll also find a very good wine that's also a good value, costing $9.