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My second post (first real post) is about Sauvignon Blanc – a benign varietal to get started – no offence to all of those Sauvignon Blanc lovers out there. I actually do enjoy a good Sauvignon Blanc on a nice hot day/evening here in Virginia.
Since I have so many prior tasting notes, trips, photos to document and post, I thought I would just jump right in and begin with ‘time-now.’
July 4th weekend I found myself at my in laws’ family beach house on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Lovely place to spend a very quiet weekend, disconnect and sit on the deck overlooking the beach and Chesapeake Bay (and get stung on the neck by a F’ing wasp).
I like to do comparative tastings on the weekends in an attempt to train my palate and to drink more wine and the July 4th holiday weekend presented a great chance to gather up a few Sauvignon Blancs for a multi-national comparative tasting.
I purchased these three at our local Total Wine on a quick grab and go shopping trip.
July 4th Sauvignon Blanc Taste Off
Domaine Paul Thomas, Chavignol “Les Comtesses,” Sancerre, 2006 (~$21)
Real cork. On the nose, I found mineral, star fruit and the slightest hint of green apple. In the mouth I immediately got grapefruit and great mineral – or actually strong notes of smooth rock that you would find at the bottom of a stream (the lakebed stones seem to have distinct, softer taste when compared to most other rocks – not that I taste a lot of rocks). Very clean finish
Miguel Torres Santa Digna, Chile, Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 ($11.99) Screw cap. On the nose I found pronounced grapefruit, lemon grass and the slightest hint of jalapeno pepper which I found weird. Good mouth feel with a nice tangy acidity, almost Tang-ish (remember that orange powdery drink from back in the day?) with more citrus and hint of green apple.
Picada 15, Argentina (Neuquen, Patagonia), 2007 (~$13 I think)
Synthetic cork closure. This is a blend of 55% Chardonnay, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Pinot Noir. No tasting note needed – not worth the 13 quid or effort expended to drink (this is just my opinion, you drink what you like…). On a more positive note, I did let the inlaws have this one. They thought it tasted just like Boone’s Farm… who am I to deny them of their pleasure? 🙂
My favorite, by far, was the Sancerre from Low-Are. This comparative tasting wasn’t even close. Looking for a decent Sauvignon Blanc for hot weather sipping, give this one a try. This is in fairly large production so it’s available at most big box wine stores.
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