By Anto Coates

Recently people seem to be beating up on Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Clearly it's an extension of New Zealand tall poppy syndrome, but it's particularly damaging to be running down the captain of the team in the current climate. We are trying to progress as a fine wine-making nation, and when supply already outstrips demand, we could end up going from hero to zero quicker than you can say "loss leader".

But of course behind most criticisms there is a sliver of truth. The truth could well be that the wine-loving public (as distinct from the wine-drinking public) are growing a touch tired of the workman-like reliability of the grape. The very thing that makes it so popular with the wine drinkers -- its consistency  -- is wearing thin on the newly educated and curious palates of our wine lovers. Many of these wine lovers are opinion leaders so the sentiment trickles down.

So it's not surprising that many winemakers are looking at ways to stand out from the sea of Sauv, using such techniques as lees or oak aging, barrel fermentation or indigenous fermentation. One such winemaker is Stephen Bennett MW. Along with business partner Matt Deller, they make negociant wines in a style firmly influenced by their vast European experience. For many years they've been importing fine wines from Spain, Italy, France and beyond, and think they have pretty good idea what the New World can learn from the Old. And when both men passed the notoriously difficult Master of Wine tasting exams on their first attempts at the age of 24, you'd have to think they know vegemite from marmite as it were.

Their Discovery Point Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is a great example of a new style that's coming onto the market. Wairau grown, it has the typically restrained tomato-leaf nose you'd expect, but it's in the mouth that it becomes something special. The structure is something to behold: long and linear like a gymnast's beam, but with a glorious peacock's tail finish (that will assist with wooing a potential mate as well as any feathery flourish). The wine shows the in-built complexity of its wild fermentation and the sort of textural palate from lees aging that Bennett and Deller love in the best European whites. It's already won a Gold Medal at the Royal Easter Show and I would expect more to follow.

The good news for us is that we at Regional have a Wellington exclusive on this wine and we're offering it on special for a limited time. Those feeling jaded by Sauvy owe it to themselves to give this one a try -- with a few months of sunny lunches ahead, you need another string to your bow.