Paumanok 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (North Fork) – Pretty fair, though as with so many of this area’s wines I don’t know about the value proposition. Ripe sauvignon, a little pushed (the fruit is a touch over-concentrated and there’s a slight bite of tannin), but well within the boundaries. I couldn’t possibly say if this is representing terroir or not without a lot more experience. But it’s nice enough. (11/10)
Browse Tag
sauvignon blanc
Swimming upstream
Salmon 2009 Sancerre “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” (Loire) – Very straightforward varietal characteristics, to which not much has been added or taken away. Sharp, greenish, and direct. (11/10)
Gathering none
Moss Wood 2004 Ribbon Vale Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc (Margaret River) – A mix of green and yellow citrus influences, gooseberry, grass, and herb. Ripe to the point of juiciness, and on the fulsome side, but not over the top. A pretty decent finish, too. (3/05)
Is it Livio, or is it Memorex?
Livio Felluga 2007 Collio Sauvignon (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Firm, cold-tasting, riesling-ish sauvignon blanc. A pillar of metallic/acidic structure is rammed right through the spine of this wine, and though there’s a low level aura of faint electricity around that pillar, this is still a monosyllabic wine. On the other hand, some wines say more in a single syllable than others. (8/10)
Barbou the elephant
Barbou “Domaine des Corbillières” 2009 Touraine Sauvignon (Loire) – A little more exotically-fruited than most Touraine sauvignon I’ve had, but not pushed into full Marlborough territory, or even modernistic Sancerrois experimentations. Still soil-chalky, still pleasantly green, still rindy. Somewhat insignificant, but then again not everything has to be important. (8/10)
A real groener
Neil Ellis 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (Groenekloof) – Driven and slightly pushed sauvignon, which ramps up the mineral and green components alike. There’s nothing underripe about this wine, which tends more toward apple than herb, and so it can handle the escalation of volume. A very solid wine. (5/10)
Massacre
St. Michael-Eppan “Sanct Valentin” 2006 Sauvignon (Alto Adige) – Extremely intense, as is the Sanct Valentin style, but that intensity is expressed internally rather than some big, showy explosion of gobs and lavishness. Greenish-white fruit, white-hot and studded with shattered glass, quivering with barely-restrained power but never losing its grip on the foundation. Impressive. (7/10)
Stewart
Kalin 1997 Sauvignon Blanc “Reserve” (Potter Valley) – The opposite of fresh, and I mean that as a compliment. The entire metals section of the periodic table might be in evidence here. Such concentration, force, and presence…and yet, edging just up to the border of what the wine’s balance will tolerate, and no more. Dissipates into a liquid dust as it finishes. The only negative is a butterscotched character that lingers as a bagpipe drone through the breadth of the experience. But there’s so much else to like that it’s easy to accept, though not ignore. (7/10)
Plymouth Plantation
Voyager Estate 2006 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon (Margaret River) – Grassy grapefruit rind, crisp and slightly overdriven. It’s a very refreshing drink, but it’s the refreshment of a fruit-based soda more than a wine. Still, it seems churlish to complain, because this is neither advertised as nor attempting to be some vinous sophisticate. I suspect it would be even better with food. (4/10)
Dog house
Dog Point 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) – Goes right to the heart of Marlborough sauvignon-ness (sauvignon-icity?) but in a defter, more polished way than the abrasive style that made the region. This, in case it’s not clear, is a good thing. Underripe citrus and grass vie with just enough razory acidity for dominance, and while the wine’s racy enough, it’s neither tooth-scraping nor functionally underripe. Solid, paradigm-defining wine. Which is not to say that there’s not better out there, because there is. (3/10)