Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc: the top wines to try
Unlike overtly tropical and high-acid styles, the best examples of Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc are more understated, with a pretty and refreshing fruit purity.
COMING SOON
Individual analysis of the Adelaide Hills by grape variety:
Chardonnay | Shiraz | Pinot Noir | Sparkling | Alternative varieties
Plus: Adelaide Hills value – the best wines to buy
Rather than mimicking the globally popular New Zealand style of exaggerated herbaceous and tropical fruit aromas, the best Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc wines confidently pursue a distinctive style.
It allows the sunshine in without letting the fruit become broad. It focuses on a mid-palate textural roll that emphasises lush fruit quality, making it a clean, elegant, understated drink.
The flavours ride a firm acid spine that finishes soft rather than hot and raw.
Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of top Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc
Such modest discretion hasn’t happened by accident. Shaw + Smith has been the diligent leader in harnessing this style, achieving remarkable consistency year to year by making tough decisions about what goes in and what stays out of its vintage blend.
This comes as a result of fussy cropping and careful picking decisions, ensuring optimal natural fruit acidity rather than compensating with added tartaric acid. Any unnecessary handing shows through, and the region’s best examples show pretty, unadulterated characteristics.
A critical mass of Adelaide Hills producers now follow this style. Still incorporating their own winery identities, they craft measured, balanced blends using fruit from different sites, at different elevations and with different levels of sun exposure.
The emergence of a few serious oaked (fumé) blancs, from Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard and Sidewood, is also notable. It’s a sign of belief and growing ambition that will ensure continuing respect for the assured quality of the region’s elegant, understated, fruit-driven expressions.
Top Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc producers
- Shaw + Smith
- Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard
- Riposte by Tim Knappstein and Son
- The Lane
- Sidewood Estate
Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc: the top wines to try
Related content
Best New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs: 20 under £25
Luczy: California Sauvignon Blanc and the top wines to buy
Bordeaux dry white wines: 20 to try
Shaw & Smith, Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Astonishing consistency defines this wine, hitting a benchmark of high quality that defies vintage variance, yet it never threatens to become either bland or complacent....
2020
Shaw & SmithAdelaide Hills
Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard, Aspire Fumé Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
The siren call of Sauvignon Blanc is muted with old oak, but this keeps the long flavours precise. There’s a lot going on. Lean, sharp...
2019
Mount Lofty Ranges VineyardAdelaide Hills
K1, Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Homage to a classic Sauvignon Blanc style: rich gooseberry and freshly cut grass carry through a long palate that maintains an even keel. Polite and...
2020
K1Adelaide Hills
Michael Hall, Piccadilly/Lenswood, Sauvignon Blanc,, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Taut and intensely aromatic, this has been matured for nine months in barrel, exhibiting lovely texture. Its gently flowing, gossamer fruit shows lemon pith over...
2019
Michael HallAdelaide Hills
Riposte, The Foil Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Sharp, clean and precise flavours allow the fruit to speak in a deliberate voice, but kept elegantly in check by the firm palate's sturdy architecture....
2020
RiposteAdelaide Hills
Sidewood Estate, Fumé Blanc, Mappinga, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Fermented in barrel for eight months with 30% new oak, this has a measure of stately pride in its taut frame. There’s a lot swirling...
2019
Sidewood EstateAdelaide Hills
The Lane, Gathering Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
Extra weight from a dash of Semillon makes the flavours fill the broad mid-palate with a rich, textural roll, yet this wine still remains supple....
2019
The LaneAdelaide Hills
Lobethal Road, Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Impressive length and fleshy lusciousness in the white peach, gooseberry and hay tones. The mouthfeel remains generous and rounded, full of flavour through a persistent...
2020
Lobethal RoadAdelaide Hills
Sidewood Estate, Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Seriously measured and balanced in its palate weight and flavour profile. An embrace of lemon pith entwines with grapefruit bite, all bound by lively fruity...
2020
Sidewood EstateAdelaide Hills
Saint & Scholar, Dewy’s Nectar Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2019
A shade of smoky oak adheres to a long, fleshy mid-palate, which amplifies the texture, richness and fleshy qualities of citrus and tropical fruits. It...
2019
Saint & ScholarAdelaide Hills
Simon Tolley, Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Bold, grassy herbaceous aromas. A sharp entry eases into a well-integrated, even palate with the right balance of both fleshy and tart citrus fruit, although...
2020
Simon TolleyAdelaide Hills
Heirloom, Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
High sweetness from the lush, ripe fruit that speaks deliberately and holds its weight and volume through the long palate. The fleshy grip of the...
2020
HeirloomAdelaide Hills
Tomich, Woodside Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
High-toned hay and honeysuckle sweetness which ends abruptly with a severe acid line extending out along the tail, lingering long after the fruit has subsided.
2020
TomichAdelaide Hills
Dandelion Vineyards, Wishing Clock Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Initial sweet fruit drops into a more savoury edge, with good length of flavour, but it finishes quite hot and prickly.
2020
Dandelion VineyardsAdelaide Hills
Anvers, Razorback Road Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
Light in aroma, then quite obvious tropical fruit that slides along a viscous palate. Simple and unobtrusive but lacking in finesse.
2020
AnversAdelaide Hills
Tomich, Hill Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2020
After a big aromatic entry and a full, fleshy mid-palate it falls into a long acidic finish quite quickly..
2020
TomichAdelaide Hills
