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Sauvignon Blanc Wine Tasting Notes
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2008 Colterenzio Lafoa Alto-Adige, Sauvignon [Blanc] $62 Score: 93.0 Emphatic varietal character with crisp grapefruit, dried thyme and cat piss, vibrant on the mid-palate, intense through the finish. 15% barrel fermentation gives it a round feel. Nice but very expensive. |
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2008 Tiefenbrunner, Kirchleiten, Alto-Adige, Sauvignon [Blanc] $30 Score: 91.0 Crisp and intensely fruity with apple and tangerine flavors, dry and vibrant on the mid-palate, with fruit and mineral overtones through the long finish. |
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2008 Cantina San Michele Appiano St. Valentin Alto-Adige, Sauvignon [Blanc] $45 Score: 94.0 Year after year my favorite, this vintage of the Sanct Valentin Sauvignon Blanc is a bit rounder and fuller than previous offerings, but with the same aromatic gooseberry and lime, dried herbs, and crisp acidity. |
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2008 Main Street Monterey County Sauvignon Blanc $10 Score: 92.0 This is one terrific SB, full bodied yet tart, with citrus and gooseberry flavors, a bit of classic ?cat piss? (if you have to ask, ignore the descriptor), subtle dried herbs and a long lemony finish with a mineral edge. Fine aromatics and balance. |
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2007 Dancing Bull California, Sauvignon Blanc, $12 Score: 87.0 Gooseberry nose with a dusting of fresh mown grass; light body and firm acidity on the palate, with delicate lime, honeydew melon and mineral flavors, followed by a clean finish. After the tasting we paired it with crab cakes and it was just the ticket. Good value. |
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2007, Dry Creek Vineyard, Fumé Blanc Sonoma County, Sauvignon Blanc, $14.50 Score: 95.0 Dry Creek's "regular" FB/SB is a testament to the art of winegrowing -- it's all in the grape. And it's a testament to the mature winemaking -- it's so perfectly balanced and elegant in structure (refreshing, crisp without being sharp), and so emphatically varietal, yet subtle in its complex fusion of melon rind, lime, grapefruit and dry grassy flavors that you're left entirely satisfied. Wine collectors will overlook this gem, but it's the epitome of the term "poor man's Chardonnay." At just $14.50 a bottle, I'd advise you to lay in a case. Widely available, as 29,908 cases were produced. |
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2006, Dry Creek Vineyard, Taylor's Vineyard Musqué Dry Creek Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, $25 Score: 90.0 A more subtle expression of the fruit, the musqué clone displays muted melon, a hint of passion fruit, and a sprinkling of nutmeg, all wrapped in crisp acidity. This is more in the style of the Loire, though with less minerality than the DCV3. Only 539 cases produced. |
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2006, Dry Creek Vineyard, Estate Fumé Blanc DCV3 Dry Creek Valley, [Sauvignon Blanc]: $25 Score: 88.0 Of the three, this is the most austere. It's a Loire Valley style of wine, dry as a bone, lean with lime and mineral character. It's a great palate cleanser and a quintessential shellfish wine (particularly with raw oysters). |
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2007 Kenwood Vineyards, Russian River Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve $20 Score: 91.0 I didn't expect such intensity of gooseberry and grapefruit aromas from a Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. On the palate it's even more intense, with the addition of lemon to the grapefruit, and subtle mineral notes that play out in the finish. Some will find it too tart, but you'll find it an excellent shellfish wine. I prefer it chilled. |
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2007 Kenwood Vineyards, Russian River Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve $20 Score: 91.0 I didn't expect such intensity of gooseberry and grapefruit aromas from a Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. On the palate it's even more intense, with the addition of lemon to the grapefruit, and subtle mineral notes that play out in the finish. Some will find it too tart, but for me it's an excellent shellfish wine. I prefer it chilled. |
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2007 Lake Sonoma Winery, Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc: $15 Score: 89.0 These days the two main styles of Sauvignon Blanc are the tart New Zealand style with its characteristic gooseberry aroma, and the more traditional grassy style with melon-like overtones. This one falls somewhere in between, though bending toward the grassy style. It's classically structured, dry, tart, with melon aromas that give way to lemony tartness on the palate with a pervasive background of dried herbs (thyme & marjorum), and a lingering finish. |
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2007 Whitehaven, Marlborough, New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc $22.00 Score: 96.0 This is the most enjoyable New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc I've had in quite some time. Most are bone-dry, more austere and higher in alcohol. By leaving just a touch of residual sugar (below most people's threshold to perceive it) Whitehaven buoys the fruit aromas and rounds out the palate. The 2007 has an enticing nose of gooseberry, kiwi fruit and lime that follows through to a vibrant, mouth-watering palate, and a subtle minerality in the finish. It holds a high level of intensity throughout, and its low pH, high acidity and touch of residual sugar are in perfect balance. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better Sauvignon Blanc, particularly at this price. |
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