OK, OK…I took BillTexLandreth’s sage advice and checked out La Pelle wine.
As soon as it arrived, I stood it up for one day and then my wife and I hit it! (The wine, I mean.)
2016 Sauvignon Blanc: My wife had the best words…“round, ‘oily’ finish (which is high praise from her,) perfect acid/fruit balance.”
No grassyness or ‘cat pee.’ (I hate that term, but understand when people use it for sauvignon blanc.) I am often wrong about things, but would guess it was allowed, at least in part, to undergo some malolactic fermentation. There was a subtle bit of oak, very restrained fruit - much like Peter Michael L’Apre Midi sauvignon blanc.
Classy classy wine. My wife said the wine made her evening, it was that good.
We had it with poke salad, shrimp, and musubi from our favorite Hawaiian place.
This wine is in the top pantheon of sauvignon blancs.
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Right off the top, my wife caught subtle green pepper (I agree.) She says the following, for public consumption: “If this wine doesn’t have some footprint in the Rutherford Bench, I will eat my hat.” There was a perfect balance of oak and fruit. We both thought classic Groth Reserve would be a beginning comparison, with this wine having less obvious green pepper. The fruit notes are ‘dark’ and complex, this is not a bright fruity bomb, it’s on the ponderous side. Mouth filling, with tannins present but not over-bearing. Long back palate finish.
DELICIOUS.
So, this is truly a worthy find and we found it to be a great value.
Both wines are at the pinnacle of what the valley can do.
Proof of death…
