Price: $7.99 at Total Wine

Region: Stellenbosch, South Africa

Sight: greenish yellow

Smell: honey, floral, lime

Taste: dry, green apple, pear, lime juice

Overall: I think this Chenin Blanc has some identity issues—he wants so desperately to be a Sauvignon Blanc.  This is on the very dry end of the Chenin Blanc spectrum, with enough razor-sharp citrus to make your cheeks pucker.  It’s a little more full-bodied than most Sauvignon Blancs I’ve had though, leading the fruit to have a “bigger” presence.  The nose has a tight, honeyed lime component with a pleasant white flower accent, while the palate introduces some tree fruit flavors and a definitive dryness.  It finishes very floral, like jasmine.  Excellent seafood companion or summer sipper.  Over-delivers at the price point, as well!

Region: Margaret River, Australia

Price: $12.99 at Total Wine

Sight: pale mint green

Smell: lime juice, fresh-cut grass

Taste: lemon, lime, white grapefruit, floral, mineral

Overall: This wine is a gosh darn citrus fruit convention.  The nose bursts with a grassy lime aroma, and on the palate, all of the other citrus fruits you can think of explode en choeur.  Lemon juice, tangerine, white grapefruit, and more lime attack with intensity, until the wine takes a turn towards a somewhat softer floral finish.  A lovely honeysuckle almost-sweetness creeps in under the electric citrus and tones everything down, until all that is left on the finish is something clean, mineral, and faintly floral.  In spite of the high notes this wine hits in the acidity scale, the whole thing possesses a certain grace and balance.  The lightness is something to be noted, as well.  The whole thing feels fresh.