15 Pine Ridge ‘white blend’ [California] 12.5% abv. The label states this is a blend of chenin blanc (83%) and viognier (17%); I picked it up while out of town since it looked cheap and functional. It doesn’t have much viognier (floral) character to me, nor any chenin blanc (straw, minerals) flavor. It tastes more like a sauvignon blanc - strong cat pee notes. Light hay color, medium/light bodied, good cut of acidity here. Very juicy acidity, this would be good with lots of lighter or Asian foods. Still I was hoping for more viognier character. Good value for $10, it’s a B or B+ for most palates, although I’d rather have a white Loire or Rhone in these varietals.
This is a go to qpr for me - $12 locally and quite enjoyable. I agree it’s more Chenin than Viognier.
Haven’t had the '15, but have had other vintages and never got the strong cat pee notes you mentioned. I’ve always felt it to be a solid bargain white.
I’ve got a 20 lb (!) cat who is extremely territorial, and in her defenses against the (hated) dog, she marks bath mats. So I’ve become hyper attuned to that aroma.
I’m sticking my nose into the glass again, and I get the sauvignon blanc style cat pee notes still. It’s not a bad note, its just something I associate more with other grapes.
+1
at $10-$12 a bottle, this is a winner every time.
We’ve been buying this for I believe 3-4 vintages now; absolutely fantastic QPR. Because of the QPR a great wine to serve at non wine geek parties.
I kind of agree with you Arv. I wanted to like it a lot more than I do but eventually stopped trying it. I give them a lot of credit for making it and I’m glad people like it, but I’m not a fan. In particular, I don’t like Sauvignon Blanc all that much and one thing I like about Chenin Blanc is that it’s different and rather than a grapefruit or cat pee aroma it has more grassy, straw notes.
But it’s a good wine for non wine geeks to let them know that there’s more than Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc when it comes to white wines.
Just saw this at Trader Joe’s but it was more like $14
This wine is always a safe bet when serving a crowd. 
Recent(-ish) tastings of the L’Ecole 41 Columbia Valley Semillon and Chenin Blanc, as well as Bogle Chenin Blanc and Monmessin Vouvray, are along these lines. I would additionally lump many Spanish Verdejos and such in the same safe/affordable category.
How close were you to the bath mats when you were sticking your nose in the glass?
Great QPR wine for a warm weather get-together of non-geeks. Especially with food carrying a touch of spice. It should be available for around $10.99.
Seems like we drink a few every year. (I think my wife sells it???). It definitely gets the straw and grass profile, but I never notice the cat pee Sauv blanc profile, and I have multiple cats.
The residual sugar has got a bit too high for me the last couple of vintages. Wife loves it though.
Have not tried in a while but always good from previous vintages.
I sold this and also drank it for years. But I agree completely, the RS seems to have creeped up and I neither sell nor drink it anymore. Still, it has been a fantastic value for a long, long time. And I don’t know that the RS has creeped up or the blend and flavor profile has changed. I’ll have to try a bottle and figure it out myself.
JD