Wild Oats, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009

Bob Oatley has made some great calls in his time. Firstly, in 2003 there was the sale of his Rosemount Estate empire to Southcorp for $1.5 billion; then there was his Wild Oats II yachting team which won five line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Race and remain race record holder to this day; and more recently, the development of the Wild Oats Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (2009) ($18) – an outstanding new wine sourced from the Margaret River, Frankland River and Pemberton regions in Western Australia.

The dull straw colour of the wine actually lulls you into a false sense of dreariness as the wine is lively and vivacious from the moment it hits the lips. The grassy citrus at the front gives way to a herbaceous tang in the middle and finishes dry and zesty but with a lively minerality. The quality of the fruit is surprising for the price point!

This one might make you put away Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs for good!

And to think, I used to think that their Chardonnay was the pick of their range…