Loren Sonkin
Loren Sonkin
Last night my value tasting group met to drink Sauvignon Blancs. The rules of this group are the wines cost $20 to $40 and are available on the local shelves. For this night we allowed a few dollars less if needed. I was very interested to try these and find some discoveries for summer. Unfortunately, I was at my sons baseball game and could not get there until late. In all the bottles and been open for over an hour and that left me with about 45 minutes to taste thru the wines. Still, it was enough time to get a sense of the wines. And there was one real surprise.
Our host Jeff started us off with:
NV Baumard Cremante de Loire Carte Corail
I have had this many times. A great QPR sparkling wine. Salmon pink in color. Medium bubbles. The nose has strawberries shortcake. Easy to drink. Good starter.
The Sauvignon Blancs:
2007 Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc
I have never been as big a fan of this as others. It screamed California to me and not in a good way. Light gold in color. Grassy nose with a strong whiff of vanilla. An acidic tingling on the tongue. Oily texture. Just not my favorite style, the group liked this more than I.
2008 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc
A perennial favorite of mine and one of the few South African wines I constantly recommend. My first try at this vintage. Light golden in color. Some pineapple on the nose. Crisp and pineapple finish. Nicely balanced and at the right place a good summer quaff. This has historically been much cheaper outside of Ohio where it is closer to $25 and not worth the money. The groups #2 WOTN.
2007 Sancerre Les Champs Clos
From the Loire Co-op in Sancerre. Light golden in color. Nice nose with minerals and grapefruits. Nice complexity to it but comes off very tart at the finish. A fine enough wine perhaps lacking greatness.
2005 Henry Pelle Menetou Salon Morgues
Another favorite of mine. I drank a bunch of the 05s. It is still on the shelves here which is sad. The nose is very restrained. On the palate, this is smooth with a nice complexity to it. Hard to judge in this environment, it doesnt have an outgoingness that it had in its youth. Still, by my second or third pass thru the wines, it has a class about it that I really like.
2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
My late arrival and opinion on this cemented it in last place. How the mighty have fallen. It has the gooseberries on the nose. Tropical fruit tastes and is a fine sipping wine. It just seems to taste formulaic. If there was a soulless wine, this is it. At $10, it would be a fine party wine. In Ohio, this is close to $30 now.
2007 Mapema Sauvignon Blanc
From Mendoza, Argentina. Jeff thru this in for kicks. $12 Ohio. It was the groups and mine WOTN. Light golden in color. The nose has grapefruits and a spice (nutmeg?) quality to it. Easy to drink but interesting. Smooth texture. Fresh and vibrant. I doubt it cellars, but I will be buying some for this summer.
2007 Reverdy Sancerre
Light golden in color. The nose has grapefruits and spice. Layered on the palate, but slightly tart on the finish. Another good wine, but this is $25 Ohio and just not worth the tariff comparatively speaking. That said I liked it.
Our host Jeff started us off with:
NV Baumard Cremante de Loire Carte Corail
I have had this many times. A great QPR sparkling wine. Salmon pink in color. Medium bubbles. The nose has strawberries shortcake. Easy to drink. Good starter.
The Sauvignon Blancs:
2007 Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc
I have never been as big a fan of this as others. It screamed California to me and not in a good way. Light gold in color. Grassy nose with a strong whiff of vanilla. An acidic tingling on the tongue. Oily texture. Just not my favorite style, the group liked this more than I.
2008 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc
A perennial favorite of mine and one of the few South African wines I constantly recommend. My first try at this vintage. Light golden in color. Some pineapple on the nose. Crisp and pineapple finish. Nicely balanced and at the right place a good summer quaff. This has historically been much cheaper outside of Ohio where it is closer to $25 and not worth the money. The groups #2 WOTN.
2007 Sancerre Les Champs Clos
From the Loire Co-op in Sancerre. Light golden in color. Nice nose with minerals and grapefruits. Nice complexity to it but comes off very tart at the finish. A fine enough wine perhaps lacking greatness.
2005 Henry Pelle Menetou Salon Morgues
Another favorite of mine. I drank a bunch of the 05s. It is still on the shelves here which is sad. The nose is very restrained. On the palate, this is smooth with a nice complexity to it. Hard to judge in this environment, it doesnt have an outgoingness that it had in its youth. Still, by my second or third pass thru the wines, it has a class about it that I really like.
2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
My late arrival and opinion on this cemented it in last place. How the mighty have fallen. It has the gooseberries on the nose. Tropical fruit tastes and is a fine sipping wine. It just seems to taste formulaic. If there was a soulless wine, this is it. At $10, it would be a fine party wine. In Ohio, this is close to $30 now.
2007 Mapema Sauvignon Blanc
From Mendoza, Argentina. Jeff thru this in for kicks. $12 Ohio. It was the groups and mine WOTN. Light golden in color. The nose has grapefruits and a spice (nutmeg?) quality to it. Easy to drink but interesting. Smooth texture. Fresh and vibrant. I doubt it cellars, but I will be buying some for this summer.
2007 Reverdy Sancerre
Light golden in color. The nose has grapefruits and spice. Layered on the palate, but slightly tart on the finish. Another good wine, but this is $25 Ohio and just not worth the tariff comparatively speaking. That said I liked it.