Loading ...I like Sauvignon Blanc. I mean I really like Sauvignon Blanc. It is one of my favorite white varieties and one that I find myself enjoying often as the weather turns warmer. However, despite this enjoyment of the grape, I don’t find the wines to be profound, earth-shattering, roll-down-your-socks experiences. It is what it is: a great, warm weather quaffer that pairs easily with food. Hooray for Sauvignon Blanc. You may never get 92 points from me, but you’ll always be on my buy list and in my cellar.
Here we have two Sauvignon Blancs from Old World and New. The French “competitor” came in slightly ahead, literally by a nose. It won at first sniff.
2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough (5/13/2010) Lemon grass, fresh mowed hay, and grapefruit combine in this very dry, enjoyable wine. Good, balanced acidity keeps it from being heavy but I find very little else to note on this wine beyond saying it is the perfect example of a NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. It could be a teaching tool in a wine tasting class or a nice “go to” house white. Either way it fits the bill at about 15 bucks. (86 pts.)
2008 Château La Rame Sauvignon Blanc Sec – France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Contrôlée (5/13/2010) Vibrant floral aromas backed up by tart lemon peel and apricot flavors. Silly me… I didn’t notice the fine print “Sauvignon Blanc Sec” but pegged the variety anyway. Tell-tale grassiness is present, but not heavy. This expressive and enjoyable wine is a good value at the $15 I paid retail and would make quite the enjoyable summer house white wine. (87 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker on GrapeStories.com
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Try the Corra 2007 SB. It is singing a beautiful song (glad I have a case for summer sipping).
Also, I think many people drink SB too young. IMO they are released extremely early and often can benefit from a couple years of bottle age. I will be drinking ’07’s and not ’08’s this summer as much as possible. If I recall Kelham in Napa also makes a fantastic SB.
Also, there are some exotic variations. I am not going to say they have the complexity of a Match Vineyard Butterdragon or Baconbrook, but I had a spearmint flavored sauvignon a few months back that was definitely out of the ordinary. If you’d like to give it a wirl I can find out who the producer was from a friend.
Randy,
Have you ever tried a Herb Lamb E-II Sauv Blanc?
If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat.
Bud
Thanks for the advice, Sean. I bought the Corra CS but not the SB. Sounds like I’m missing out. I’ll contact Celia and see if there is any more. A few of my current favorite Sauv Blancs from Napa are Herb Lamb EII, Round Pond, and for the price, Mason is consistently nice.
Funny, Bud, I didn’t realize that you posted this when writing the reply to Sean. I tried the EII a couple of times at tastings with Jennifer and just picked up a bottle at Sunshine Grocery yesterday. We popped it last night but it really wasn’t a setting that I could do much evaluation. It was tasty. Which I guess, afterall, is evaluation enough 🙂 I’ve got a few in my cellar now.