But our top insider secret? There's another 'M' out there making truly brilliant Sauvignon – Moldova.

Like Marlborough, Codru in Moldova has a long, slow ripening season.

It’s cold winds keep the grapes healthy and mean the vineyards can easily be grown organically.

Albastrele is made with handpicked grapes from the Tvarditsa Estate at an award-winning cellar well equipped for producing bright, modern whites.

Made from carefully selected handpicked grapes, winemaker Marian Haraba has crafted a truly impressive white wine.

Bursting with vibrant gooseberry and citrus aromas, Albastrele makes an elegant apéritif or a delicious match for grilled fish or smoked salmon.

Thanks to snowmelt from the Andes and the wonders of irrigation, green and flourishing vineyards stand out in contrast to their lunar-like surroundings.

Alta Tierra is from Viña Falernia, owned by cousins Aldo Olivier and Giorgio Flessati.

They have 135 hectares of beautifully manicured vineyards and an ultra modern cellar. In 2005 their first vintage won a Trophy and put Elqui on the map.

This dazzling Sauvignon Blanc displays classic varietal character of elderflower and freshly mown grass with ripe melon and citrus fruit.

Serve as an aperitif or partner with spicy Asian dishes or fish.

Since their wines first appeared in 2004, Château Vartely has established itself as one of Moldova’s top wineries. The winery controls 300 hectares of vines grown in conditions and soils very similar to the best of Bordeaux. Glowing online reviews every vintage prove that UK wine lovers have given this estate a big thumbs up. From grape harvesting to bottling, every step takes place under the watchful eye of Arcadie Fosnea, ‘Moldovan Winemaker of the Year’ in 2014. Having studied winemaking at Weinsberg, Germany, he has drawn worldwide acclaim for his skill at producing impressive wines.

Like this brilliantly fresh blend of native Feteasca Regala and crisp, grassy Sauvignon. Serve chilled on its own, with goat's cheese bake or with fish.

Meet Dog Point – an outstanding, award-winning range of wines from New Zealand’s Marlborough region. In 2004 Ivan Sutherland and James Sealy decided to take the skills they’d learnt as viticulturalist and winemaker at Cloudy Bay and set up on their own. They had a head start as Ivan had planted vineyards in Marlborough back in the 1970s. Dog Point remains very much owned by the two families – a boutique winery aiming firmly for high-quality wines, produced as naturally as possible.

Using hand-picked, low-yield grapes, the wine is meticulously made and hugely expressive of both Sauvignon Blanc and the terroir of the Wairau Valley. No stranger to awards, this is a white to chill down and savour with salmon with salsa perhaps or spicy noodles.

Touraine lies in eastern Loire, close to the Central Vineyards, and its best wines, like the Malet Réserve, comfortably give Sancerre a run for its money. For three generations the Malet family have grown top-quality grapes on classic chalk and flint-rich soils to sell to other estates. Then, in 2001, brothers Alain and Bruno Malet took control and started making wine under their own name. They now make two levels of Sauvignon: standard Touraine, and their Réserve, for which they select grapes from older vines so the wine has even greater concentration. Our Buyer Samuel was very taken with both. This Réserve has a smoky-flint, citrus and herbal aroma with stony lemony intensity. A classic with seafood or warm goat’s cheese and pear salad.

“Gun-flint – the smell of sparks when flint strikes metal – is one way to characterise it” says Hugh Johnson. Plus, he adds, “the smell and taste of fresh blackcurrants, leaves and all” (Wine Companion). The finest examples come typically from small, independent growers like Reverdy – this tiny, seven hectare estate has won a disproportionate number of awards in recent years. Asparagus, gooseberry and mineral character make this aromatic 2019 a great match for pan fried fish or goat's cheese salad.

Wine International magazine decreed, “the revival of Muscadet is coming from growers like Gadais”, a 4th-generation estate, run today by father and son, Christophe and Pierre-Henri Gadais. It was founded in 1952 by Louis Gadais – one of the first winemakers in Nantes to bottle his own wines (most was sold to merchants in bulk). La Grande Réserve du Moulin is their top cuvée, using the best bunches of Melon de Bourgogne (the only grape permitted in Muscadet) from their vineyards. It’s a fine white aged sur lie, meaning it’s left for months on its fine lees to add subtle creamy complexity to the floral apple and pear fruit. 2023 was an exceptional vintage for Muscadet, as grapes were picked during the September heatwave. An ace seafood white.