2018 Truchard Sauvignon Blanc Carneros – Moderately intense aromas are surprisingly subtle for 12 months after harvest, offering freshly mown grass, hay and white spices, mostly coriander seed with a hint of ginger. The palate is as fresh as you could want, but also lush, almost opulent, as if there was a touch of Semillon, but that’s in the texture, not the flavors. This offers outstanding balance, intricacy and a very long finish. If it does not have the intensity of the very greatest wines, it is still a sterling example of the varietal. I have always thought that Napa is an underrated terroir for Sauvignon Blanc. Where there’s great Cab, there should also be great SB, and here it is. This reminds me of Araujo Sauvignon Blanc. It would be about 1/4 the price if you could buy it, which you cannot.
We had dinner tonight at Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar in Boston. They have this by the glass, not by the bottle. It is bottled by Truchard only for this restaurant group, which has four restaurants. You cannot get this wine any place else. They sell if for ten dollars a glass, which is the single best by the glass value I have had this decade. Rated 93.5. If you are near Boston, it is worth visiting one of their restaurants just for this wine (btw, very good grub, fair prices).
Interesting. Something that good but also that unique I’d think would be better positioned for bottle sales to the general public (whether via DTC or “traditional” channels). Because even if it’s worth more than $10 glass I think they’d be hard-pressed to get it in that format. Though I’m sure customers who are already enjoying this BTG at $10 and know the value they are getting will be happy to keep the status quo.
Wow–that is hella high praise from you, Dan. Tagging the thread for my hoped-for visit to Boston at end of summer next year. Araujo Eisele SB (although I didn’t care as much for the latest version) has been my benchmark for Cali SB in terms of what I like.
Did not know about this wine, or ‘The Shepherd’. When I saw it on the glass list, I asked, and the waiter (who was not ignorant about wine) said that Truchard has only a very small amount of Sauvignon Blanc, and because the restaurant group had been long-time supporters, they agreed to bottle it for them.
This is not a powerhouse, but for purity, balance, finesse and subtlety, it is at a very high level. Now I will have to order a bottle of ‘The Shepherd’ to see if I think it’s the same wine and to see how good it is. Apparently available in New Jersey, so I won’t have to deal with cross-country shipping.
While I’m at it, anybody have any opinions on Truchard’s other wines?
Yes, I think they are well made and great values. I had the 2014 Roussanne a couple months back and it was very nice; on sale at Whole Foods, no less. I used to buy the chards, pinots, syrahs when they were more readily available here (Vegas). The Truchards are/were (not sure if they are still alive) very nice people. I had an appointment set up about a decade ago, but my companions dallied over a long lunch and I had to cancel; Mrs. Truchard was gracious about it and invited me back. They used to show up at the old versions of Hospice du Rhone in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. A good trivia question (calling Tom Hill) is: what winery was on that property before Truchard??