The World’s Best Value Sauvignon Blancs

As summer hoves into view – at least in the Northern Hemisphere – there are few wines that offer so much cool, zesty refreshment and bang for buck as Sauvignon Blanc.

At its most complex, Sauvignon Blanc can be both barrel-fermented and aged on the lees and exude notes that range from deep golden apple to smokey notes of hay, gunpowder, flint and rockmelon. At its simplest, of course, the grape variety tends to focus on high acid and tingling notes of freshly cut grass, lime and green apple.

Naturally, when it comes to the best value Sauvignon Blancs on Wine-Searcher, these generally veer towards the latter – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. When basking in the sun with a light green salad or spicy ceviche to nibble on, few things work as well as an uncomplicated zesty green Sauv to wash it down with.

For this list of our top ten best value Sauvignon Blancs, we go from the Limari Valley in Chile to Austria and the wilds of New Zealand. Each of the wines on this list has – bar one – a score in the nineties with the most expensive being $24.

The World’s Best Value Sauvignon Blanc Wines on Wine-Searcher:

The cheapest is the one wine that doesn’t quite make the nineties with a score of 88 points, the Tohu New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc – although it is worth saying that specific vintages like the 2021 and 2020 have scored spectacularly with scores of 97 and 93 respectively, and, what’s even better, the price has remained very much the same. With an average price of $15, the Tohu, with its zesty lemon tang, is pretty hard to go wrong with.

Unsurprisingly, New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blancs make quite a splash on this list with three hailing from Marlborough‘s teal-tinged basin. However, the region appears to be in danger of losing its crown for producing attractive Sauvignon at an even more attractive price-point to another contender in the Southern Hemisphere.

Chile – we’re looking at you – and, more specifically, three key regions that seem to be doing sterling work on the matter, none more so than Chile’s Limari Valley. Influenced by the relatively close Atacama Desert, the Limari Valley is both hot and dry, relieved by the coastal Camanchaca fog that rolls each morning, cooling the vines. As a result, the region has become a hotspot for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the grape varieties used to distil into Pisco, the country’s signature brandy.

Although, comparatively, only a small portion of Sauvignon Blanc is made, what is produced is shining through with fresh flavors of lemon and lime. Where Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc tends to place the emphasis on cut grass and bell pepper, Sauvignon Blanc from Limari tends to have those notes but, instead, places the emphasis on ripe peach, passionfruit and pineapple. The other two Chilean regions to make this list are the Colchagua and Maule valleys.

The Colchagua Valley, in particular, is one of Chile’s newer and most prestigious wine regions and is known for producing wines both white and red. The Casa Silva Cool Coast Sauvignon Blanc reflects this trend. Despite the wine being a very savvy $19, it is surprisingly sophisticated with rich notes of tropical grapefruit, white peach and fresh-cut herbs.

The last Chilean wine region to make the list is the Maule Valley. One of the country’s oldest wine regions, Sauvignon Blanc made here is known for its fresh notes of lemon and thyme. The Laberinto Sauvignon Blanc is – at $21 – one of the more expensive wines to make this list, but it consistently gets rave reviews with an aggregated critic score of 93 points.

The other countries that make an appearance are South Africa, Austria – which boasts two wines – and Greece which brings up the rear with Ktima Gerovassiliou Fume Sauvignon Blanc PGI Epanomi.

What is apparent, from both the prices and the scores, is that the days of cheap Sauvignon Plonk are numbered. These wines may be incredible value but they are also incredibly well made with one of them having an average score of 95 points, another four at 93, and a further four drifting between 91 and 90.

When it comes to finding that perfect tipple to while away the summer months, there’s no need to settle for cheap and cheerful when chic and thrifty is in.