"Oak in a Sauvignon Blanc!" says a friend, just after I have opened a bottle of 2006 Castello Banfi Sauvignon Blanc Serena Toscana (IGT). "I thought Sauvignon Blancs were supposed to taste like cat's pee and herbs or something."

Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, with its rich, ultra-crisp flavors of sharp citrus, white flowers, and distinctive herbal scent, have been such a rage for so long many of us have forgotten — or just never really realized — the aroma and palate of a Sauvignon Blanc that was not born in New Zealand. For people who have just became interested in wine over the last few years, they may have started with a vibrant, racy Sauvignon Blanc and not realized the subtle, mineral nature of an Old World Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre, for example.

The Banfi Sauvignon Blanc I have just opened has much more in common with a good Sancerre than a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, yet at the same time exerts its own flirtatious Italian character quite charmingly. This wine comes from a single vineyard at the Castello Banfi vineyard estate in Montalcino.

It takes its name from Pietra Serena, the grey stone that dapples the soil in that area and is used for mantle pieces and thresholds in the old stone farmhouses and you can also taste the minerality that this stone adds to the soil. At the same time, you taste a lush, yet sophisticated and tamed ripeness in the fruit, which may be a combination of the warm Mediterranean climate as well as the fact the wine is aged for six months in French oak.

Imagine ordering a butter-poached lobster spiked with vanilla and you will imagine the perfect pairing for this elegant wine. Unlike the more strident New World Sauvignon Blancs whose vibrant flavors announce themselves on arrival, Serena is a more subtle wine who keeps her personality under wraps until one takes notice.

On the nose, one gets hint of grapefruit peel and vanilla, which is also echoed on the palate. Acidity is racy with more flavors of wet stone and grapefruit, as well as citrus peel on the finish. You can serve it as an aperitif, as its acidity will surely stimulate the appetite, or pair it with any manner of white fish or seafood, such as poached or even grilled whitefish, roasted cod, halibut, and scallops (especially if sautéed in butter).

I like this wine a lot. The first time I tasted it, I tasted it blind with several other Sauvignon Blancs from other countries. I had no idea about the price or region, as I wanted to be free to make that split-second distinction about whether I liked a wine or not on a gut level.

This wine won me over with its refined flavors and good balance between the concentration of fruit and acidity. At around $20, it is competitively priced with many other wines in this category. Unlike many other Sauvignon Blancs that can be considered too extreme (either with too much strident personality or not enough), this is a clear winner.