| Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Tasting Report |
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Well for the first time in a while, our staff decided to
review a white wine varietal. We have a bunch of red wine
snobs on our jury! The group decided last month that we
should have our staff tasting at a Thai restaurant, so I
chose Jasmine’s on Spring Creek and Custer. They did a
great job too! They knew enough to give us our space and
let us take over an entire corner of their restaurant. The
food was pretty good too. Some liked their dinner choices
better than others, but as a whole, I think I enjoyed it all
and everyone’s check came out to just $15.00 a person
and that is including the tip.
I did mention that we kind of took over the restaurant; the
dinning area is very small and intimate. Chris tried to
engage some of the other restaurant patrons in
conversation, but apparently, they weren’t having any of
it. Actually his rehtoric sounded more like diatribes as to
why we were corrupting their children with our drinking
habits. Oh well, at least he was trying to be neighborly.
This time, the wine flavor of the month was Sauvignon
Blanc. An outstanding food wine and one that we have not
reviewed in quite some time. If I were recommending a
wine for Thai food, which tends to be spicy, Sauvignon
Blanc would be on my short list along with the likes of say,
Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Viognier. One thing
Sauvignon Blanc has going for it is that it is usually very
acidic and can cut through heavy sauces, spices and
flavors. Indeed, some of these wines improved once we
started eating our dinners.
I told our staff that they could bring a Sauvignon Blanc
from anywhere in the world they wanted, the one piece of
advice I gave them though was that it should be from the
2005 vintage or younger, meaning 2006. Sauvignon Blanc,
and I don’t care what any wine writer or critic says, just
does not age well. It loses the sharp acidity that makes it
a refreshing wine to drink to begin with. (See my ranting
on this subject in my opinion page). Despite my warnings,
two wines from the 2004 vintage showed up and they
honored us this evening by providing two of the bottom
three scores in our tasting and personally, I felt they
should have been the bottom two! Be weary of the wine
store that has older vintages of Sauvignon Blanc in their
closeout bin! Don’t do it!
Unfortunately we did not have any Sauvignon Blanc wines
from France (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, etc…) and we did
not have any from South Africa, which I think is doing a
marvelous job as of late with the varietal. Instead, we had
three from the state of California, one from the land down
under, Australia, and three from easily the hottest
Sauvignon Blanc region on the planet, New Zealand. The
New Zealand wines were very easy to pick out in our blind
tasting, despite their subtle differences, they all have the
same basic smell and tastes. They also put quite a butt-
kicking on the other wines in our tasting. In fact, the Stag’
s Leap only placed one-tenth of a point higher than one of
the New Zealand wines, otherwise, they would have taken
the top three spots in our tasting.
And speaking of our tasting, here are the results:
review a white wine varietal. We have a bunch of red wine
snobs on our jury! The group decided last month that we
should have our staff tasting at a Thai restaurant, so I
chose Jasmine’s on Spring Creek and Custer. They did a
great job too! They knew enough to give us our space and
let us take over an entire corner of their restaurant. The
food was pretty good too. Some liked their dinner choices
better than others, but as a whole, I think I enjoyed it all
and everyone’s check came out to just $15.00 a person
and that is including the tip.
I did mention that we kind of took over the restaurant; the
dinning area is very small and intimate. Chris tried to
engage some of the other restaurant patrons in
conversation, but apparently, they weren’t having any of
it. Actually his rehtoric sounded more like diatribes as to
why we were corrupting their children with our drinking
habits. Oh well, at least he was trying to be neighborly.
This time, the wine flavor of the month was Sauvignon
Blanc. An outstanding food wine and one that we have not
reviewed in quite some time. If I were recommending a
wine for Thai food, which tends to be spicy, Sauvignon
Blanc would be on my short list along with the likes of say,
Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Viognier. One thing
Sauvignon Blanc has going for it is that it is usually very
acidic and can cut through heavy sauces, spices and
flavors. Indeed, some of these wines improved once we
started eating our dinners.
I told our staff that they could bring a Sauvignon Blanc
from anywhere in the world they wanted, the one piece of
advice I gave them though was that it should be from the
2005 vintage or younger, meaning 2006. Sauvignon Blanc,
and I don’t care what any wine writer or critic says, just
does not age well. It loses the sharp acidity that makes it
a refreshing wine to drink to begin with. (See my ranting
on this subject in my opinion page). Despite my warnings,
two wines from the 2004 vintage showed up and they
honored us this evening by providing two of the bottom
three scores in our tasting and personally, I felt they
should have been the bottom two! Be weary of the wine
store that has older vintages of Sauvignon Blanc in their
closeout bin! Don’t do it!
Unfortunately we did not have any Sauvignon Blanc wines
from France (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, etc…) and we did
not have any from South Africa, which I think is doing a
marvelous job as of late with the varietal. Instead, we had
three from the state of California, one from the land down
under, Australia, and three from easily the hottest
Sauvignon Blanc region on the planet, New Zealand. The
New Zealand wines were very easy to pick out in our blind
tasting, despite their subtle differences, they all have the
same basic smell and tastes. They also put quite a butt-
kicking on the other wines in our tasting. In fact, the Stag’
s Leap only placed one-tenth of a point higher than one of
the New Zealand wines, otherwise, they would have taken
the top three spots in our tasting.
And speaking of our tasting, here are the results:
| Kim Crawford 2006 – Marlborough, New Zealand |
Notes – With a nose that is surely typical
of most New Zealand SB’s, it showed
plenty of grapefruit, sweet pea and lime
zest. On the palate it shows plenty of zippy
acidic zing and wonderful citrus flavors
that make it a must for food. I thought the
finish was a little short, but as this point in
our tasting (it was the last wine) my
extremely hot & spicy Jungle Curry had
melted away several taste buds on the
back of my tongue, so I probably was not
entirely accurate in my judgment! As
someone that drinks this wine all the time,
I can vouch for it’s pleasurability! The
Wine Spectator gave this 92 pts, so we
were not far off from them!
of most New Zealand SB’s, it showed
plenty of grapefruit, sweet pea and lime
zest. On the palate it shows plenty of zippy
acidic zing and wonderful citrus flavors
that make it a must for food. I thought the
finish was a little short, but as this point in
our tasting (it was the last wine) my
extremely hot & spicy Jungle Curry had
melted away several taste buds on the
back of my tongue, so I probably was not
entirely accurate in my judgment! As
someone that drinks this wine all the time,
I can vouch for it’s pleasurability! The
Wine Spectator gave this 92 pts, so we
were not far off from them!
| About $17.00 |
| Score A- |
| Cloudy Bay 2006 – Marlborough, New Zealand |
Notes – The same aromas of grapefruit,
sweet pea and lime zest show up, but this
time there is something floral, like acacia
flowers added in as well. On the palate,
this wine explodes into that refreshing zing
SB lovers crave and it is fuller bodied than
the rest. Nice balance too. Cloudy Bay is
the wine that put New Zealand SB’s on the
map. It is ironic that it was started by an
Aussie and not a native Kiwi. A couple of
side notes. A few of us went back and
tasted this along side of the Kim Crawford
and found them to be very similar. For the
price, clearly the Kim Crawford is a better
deal, but I think you owe it to yourself to
try this wine at least once in your lifetime.
sweet pea and lime zest show up, but this
time there is something floral, like acacia
flowers added in as well. On the palate,
this wine explodes into that refreshing zing
SB lovers crave and it is fuller bodied than
the rest. Nice balance too. Cloudy Bay is
the wine that put New Zealand SB’s on the
map. It is ironic that it was started by an
Aussie and not a native Kiwi. A couple of
side notes. A few of us went back and
tasted this along side of the Kim Crawford
and found them to be very similar. For the
price, clearly the Kim Crawford is a better
deal, but I think you owe it to yourself to
try this wine at least once in your lifetime.
| Around $26.00 |
| Score A- |
| Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 2005 – Napa, California |
Notes – Yea, it has some grapefruit on the
nose, but this time there is a bit of that
classic grassiness to boot! In the mouth, it
is dry with a good buzz from the acidity and
a nice balance with the citrus fruits. This
was the surprise in our tasting. Not that I
didn’t think it would perform well, but in
that it busted up the New Zealand SB love
fest we were apparently having!
nose, but this time there is a bit of that
classic grassiness to boot! In the mouth, it
is dry with a good buzz from the acidity and
a nice balance with the citrus fruits. This
was the surprise in our tasting. Not that I
didn’t think it would perform well, but in
that it busted up the New Zealand SB love
fest we were apparently having!
| Score B+ |
| About $22.00 |
| Craggy Range 2005 Single Vineyard – Martinborough, New Zealand |
Notes – Oh, there’s no mistaking where
this wine comes from on the nose, it is all
New Zealand. See above! Nice and tart
with a good bite, medium body and long
finish. I really liked this one! I have to
think that there are not too many single
vineyard SB’s in New Zealand, so that was
pretty cool. Our top four wines absolutely
clobbered the next three below.
this wine comes from on the nose, it is all
New Zealand. See above! Nice and tart
with a good bite, medium body and long
finish. I really liked this one! I have to
think that there are not too many single
vineyard SB’s in New Zealand, so that was
pretty cool. Our top four wines absolutely
clobbered the next three below.
| Score B+ |
| Around $27.00 |
| Wildhurst 2004 Reserve – Lake County, California |
Notes – Musty, as in aromas of must and
mildew. This wine starts a little rocky and
rough and finishes as a full on gravel road.
It still had the tiniest bite of acidity, which
redeemed it just a little. No doubt,
probably was a much better wine last year.
mildew. This wine starts a little rocky and
rough and finishes as a full on gravel road.
It still had the tiniest bite of acidity, which
redeemed it just a little. No doubt,
probably was a much better wine last year.
| About $14.00 |
| Score B |
| Sterling 2005 Vintners Collection – Central Coast, California |
Notes – A little musty smelling with some
split pea soup aromas. It kind of tasted a
little creamy, like they used malolactic
fermentation on it (not usually done for this
varietal because it mellows acid). As a
result, it was noticeably sweeter than the
other wines and finished with some traces
of lemon. I don’t think this wine got a fair
shake; perhaps it was penalized for being
different.
split pea soup aromas. It kind of tasted a
little creamy, like they used malolactic
fermentation on it (not usually done for this
varietal because it mellows acid). As a
result, it was noticeably sweeter than the
other wines and finished with some traces
of lemon. I don’t think this wine got a fair
shake; perhaps it was penalized for being
different.
| Around $15.00 |
| Score B- |
| Taltarni 2004 – Victoria, Australia |
Notes – It smelled like my breath the
morning after smoking a cheap $2.00
cigar. Smokey and funky. On the palate it
was bizarre and funkified with a tinge of
foxy nastiness. Bottom line, it was past its
prime by at least a year. I would be
curious to try a current vintage if for
nothing else; I have not had many
Australian SB’s.
morning after smoking a cheap $2.00
cigar. Smokey and funky. On the palate it
was bizarre and funkified with a tinge of
foxy nastiness. Bottom line, it was past its
prime by at least a year. I would be
curious to try a current vintage if for
nothing else; I have not had many
Australian SB’s.
| About $15.00 |
| Score B- |
We did not include this Bordeaux wine in
our tasting because it was not chilled
ahead of time, but it was very good with
all of the spicy Thai cuisine.
our tasting because it was not chilled
ahead of time, but it was very good with
all of the spicy Thai cuisine.
