Sauvignon Blancs – a sense of place

St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Napa Valley          $19.99       90 pts

My tasting partner recently ‘semi retired’ from his real job (not his tasting job with me) and is now only working 60 hours/week as compared to the 80 hours/week he had been working.  Since he has so much ‘free time’, he started teaching graduate students at our local university, and has invited them to join us in a wine tasting at our home.  We have decided to compare Sauvignon Blancs from 3 different geographic regions - Europe (France), America (California) and Oceania (New Zealand).  We know each region has a sense of place (or terroir) in their wine, but this concept struck home during a recent vacation.  While we were at dinner one night, my tasting partner and I each ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, mine from California and his from New Zealand.  The wines reflected what we thought- the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand was herbaceous and the California Sauvignon Blanc was fruitier with citrus undertones.  Our server, who was excited about our tasting, offered us a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from France saying he could always tell the geographic region a Sauvignon Blanc came from.  The French Sauvignon Blanc had a more mineral taste, and yes, each wine was distinctive and unique.  We decided this would be a good theme for a wine tasting, especially for novice palates. 

I purchased these wines at a national discount beverages and more store.  The first wine we tasted was St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Napa Valley.  It has 13.7% alcohol and was $19.99.  My tasting partner and I noticed the fresh fruit on the nose, and the melon and grapefruit on the palate.   It is a bright, crisp wine and demonstrates the melon and fruit commonly found in California Sauvignon Blancs. 

An Interesting White Wine that I Missed

My tasting partner received a good tip on a white wine, TJ’s Petit Reserve Semillon 2011.  I did not taste any wines for this blog during the summer, so I unfortunately missed this wine which is available during the spring and summer months from TJ’s, a chain of grocery stores.  It is bottled in Napa Valley, is 13.5% alcohol and only $5.99.  The Semillon grape is a white grape and is commonly blended with Savignon blanc and Muscadelle.  It is also used in the production of sweet wines such as Sauternes.  In this offering, the Semillon grape stands alone.  On the nose, we detected hints of grapefruit and lychee nut.  It is light and refreshing on the palate, subtle and well balanced.  We missed this wine all summer but hope to find the 2012 vintage next year.

TJ’s Petit Reserve Semillon 2011    $5.99         91 pts

A Lovely Chardonnay

It’s been a while since last I posted, but I felt compelled to mention a lovely chardonnay that I happened upon at a big box store that we tried over the weekend.  It has been hot here, and we wanted a crisp white wine to enjoy as we sat outside.  We tried an Artessa Carneros Chardonnay 2010 that is a refreshing chardonnay tasting of white pear, green apples and a hint of oak.  Artessa Winery is located in the Carneros region of Napa, which is north of San Pablo Bay.  The wine was priced at $13.39 (at the big box store) with 14.3% alcohol.  It had a nice finish and was enjoyed by my tasting partner and also friends of ours who were visiting. 

ARTESSA CARNEROS CHARDONNAY 2010   $13.39              92 pts

Malbec

We recently tasted a Malbec wine purchased from a Natural and Organic Food Store.  It was a Kaiken Malbec 2009 from Mendoza, Argentina for $12.99 with 14.5% alcohol.  Malbecs are known for their dark red or violet color.  We noted black fruit on the nose with a hint of vanilla, followed by the same black fruit on the palate.  There was some mid palate chalkiness or a leathery taste which my tasting partner finds to be common in Malbecs.  It was a balanced wine a decent finish with some tannins.  We found it to be a good everyday table wine.

Kaiken Malbec 2009, Mendoza, Argentina          $12.99              90-92 pts