This was a wine I picked up in my pursuit of the “wine century” (tasting 100 different grape varieties). It is made of 100% Jacquere, a variety I am unfamiliar with.
Oh, what an introduction it was. I would characterize it as somewhat Loire Muscadet-like but without the saline flavors and less marked by minerality. In its place an occasional hint of white Rhone waxiness would fade in and out.
The nose was fresh and pleasant, with some hints of lemon. The palate also exhibited lemon along with the previously mentioned occasional resemblance to Marsanne/Roussanne waxiness, but with none of the weight of a Rhone. What set this wine truly apart was its exquisite tension between the fresh, crisp acidic structure and the fruit on the palate with a lovely, clean medium length finish. I would characterize it as having substance while remaining light on its feet. Every part of the wine was in perfect balance and I found myself wishing I had bought and drank about a case of this stuff over the summer instead of the single bottle I was sampling.
I have to suspect that it might even age beautifully, although I’m pretty certain I could not keep my hands off it long enough to find out.
Best of all I paid around $15. It’s a Kermit Lynch import so I would hope that means you fellow Berserkers might have a decent chance of finding this value-priced gem. For San Diegans it was at 3rd Corner in Encinitas, although really I should be selfish and keep my mouth shut. Sadly my note cannot do justice to the delight I felt in drinking this wine.