Fermoy Estate 2009 Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc

While I'm quite aware that I've been marching to the beat of a different drum for much of the past forty years a recent stroll around downtown Bowen reinforced the difference between Hughesy's tastes and the drinking habits of the wider community in these parts.

Given the prevailing humidity, a walk downtown usually comprises a two-and-a-half-block trek from home to the (air-conditioned) post office, with subsequent stops at the bank, the regular newsagent and the local library, all of which offer a temporary cool down.

The need to visit the supermarket on Friday resulted in a further stop at the corner newsagent, and with around a hundred metres to go before the supermarket I yielded to temptation and sidetracked into the liquor barn.

These days, my wine purchases are almost invariably made direct from the winery, so visits to the liquor barn have become few and far between. They've remodelled the interior as well, so these days I'm not quiote so familiar with the layout.

The new look works around the multi-layer stand the bottles up arrangement, with signs indicating areas devoted to particular varieties and styles. I'd have had no problem locating the Sauvignon Blancs, for example, though I'd have a bit of a problem if I was after something interesting and attractively-priced that didn't come from New Zealand.

There was, however, nothing to indicate where I might find a Riesling, and I managed a fair cooling off period before I found a limited range hidden at the very bottom of the Moscato and Sweet Whites section.

Now, if I had to pick a varietal that's ideally suited to the tropical lifestyle, where people tend to go for fish and seafood and some of us don't mind the flavour profile of Thai dishes, I'd be heading directly for the Riesling without passing GO and collecting $200.

I could well have gone a Riesling with dinner that evening, but an email from Fermoy Estate had landed boxes of 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, rather remarkably reduced from $20/$22 to $6.25 ($7.50 when you add freight) and the Sauv Blanc needed to be sampled.

Two points that emerge from the above:

(i) Continued bafflement at the public's refusal to go for varietal Riesling (actually, I'm sure the reason lies in the confusion between generic goon-bag swill marketed under the name and the genuine article);

and (ii) The marketing snow job that's persuaded the broad mass of Australian drinkers to subscribe to the cut price Savalanche rather than sample some of the very acceptable styles produced on this side of the ditch.

That second point presumably accounts for some of the remarkable price reduction in

Fermoy Estate 2009 Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc (4.5* $22) Almost crystal clear pale straw, brightly aromatic and leaning to the tropical rather than the cut grass end of the spectrum, balanced with genuine varietal character, depth  and a lengthy finish, this was quite wonderful drinking and had me wishing I'd (at least) doubled the order. Assuming consistency across future vintages I'd happily pay the full RRP whack, and at the discount on offer at the time (it's presumably long gone) a no-brainer.