An interesting tour through the world of Sauvignon Blanc, both new and old. These were all done blind and with the same variety I apologize that a lot of this will be redundant.
2010 Venica & Venica “Ronco delle Mele” Sauvignon Blanc Collio
Pale straw, water white with green and a highly intense nose of tomato leaf, crushed stone, smoke, tart citrus , overripe stone and orchard fruits. Medium body, high acidity, medium plus abv, high intensity and complexity. Long and quite penetrating with greener fruits on the palate. (#4)
2008 Movia Sauvignon Blanc Goriška Brda
Straw and platinum with a medium nose of spearmint, menthol, thymes, lemongrass, lemon oil, dried apricots and mineral. Medium plus body, medium alcohol, high acidity and long length. This on the palate went a little more veggie with a saline quality and bitterness.
2009 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Pale straw with green and white, the nose was highly intense. Full of grass, sweet lime, green apple, kiwi, grapefruit, peas, green beans and bell pepper. Medium plus body and alcohol with high acidity and long length. This was nicely linear on the palate and finished with a lot of gooseberry. Literally the margarita of wines.
2010 Viña Leyda “Garuma Vineyard” Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley
Hmm, where to start…Water white with green hints and a high tone, intense pyrazine driven nose. Figs, jalapeno, bell pepper, cut grass, lime, under ripe stone fruit with slight tropical and exotic notes. Medium body, medium plus abv, high acid and medium complexity. More pyrazine on the palate though leaner fruit.
2010 Reyneke Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch
Pale gold and green with a moderate nose that is mostly oak derived. More cream and toast here then fruit with some riper orchard fruit coming through. Ripe orchard fruit, citrus curd and light pyrazines on the palate, fat and round with medium plus body and alcohol, high acidity and moderate complexity. There is just too much wood on this an it dominates all the way through a toast finish. One of my least favorite.
2010 Brander Sauvignon Blanc au Naturel Santa Ynez Valley
Clear and green with a medium plus nose of stone fruit and ripe tropical fruits, white followers, lemon zest, lime juice and very low pyrazines. Medium plus body, medium alcohol, high acidity this is linear but does fill out a bit sideways. Less ripe fruit on the palate with more pronounced herbalness, some bitterness and a long guava toned finish. One of the better new world examples.
2010 Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc L’Apres-Midi Knights Valley
Straw gold with a medium plus nose of wet wood, bread, baking spice, richer orchard fruit and citrus fruits. Rather boring nose that was more Chardonnay like then SB. This continued on the palate where it was full in body, high in alcohol and acidity, round, creamy, lacking definition and the wood hangs around longer then the fruit. Definitely in my bottom three.
2009 Didier Dagueneau “Silex” Pouilly-Fumé
Pale straw and green with a highly intense nose of VA, kaffir lime leaf, chalk, citrus peel smoke and grapefruit. Medium body, medium abv, high acidity and a really long finish. The VA was a little distracting and it had a slightly odd wood note to it too. The son’s wine faltered while the fathers shined.
2004 Didier Dagueneau “Pur Sang” Pouilly-Fumé
Pale gold with a moderate nose of lemon, grapefruit, smoke, golden delicious apple, Anjou pear and parmesan rind. Moderate plus body, medium abv, high acidity and complexity with long length. Chalky on the palate this was long and rich while maintaining vibrancy. Truly one the great wines on the table and aging gracefully. – Mag.
2010 Domaine Pascal Cotat “La Grande Côte” Sancerre
Pale straw and green with a medium plus nose of chalk, dough, toffee and glue. This was disjointed and odd on the palate. Noticeable r.s. in here too. Hands down bad and two bottles were opened that showed the same. Surprised and disappointed when this was unveiled.
1975 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan
Deep gold in color with a medium plus nose of honeycomb, marzipan, golden delicious apples and green herb. Medium plus body, alcohol and complexity with high acidity. Once revealed I was surprised how fresh this wine was for its’ age. The richer fruit from the nose became leaner on the palate, this was very interesting, but by no means great.
1985 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc Pessac-Léognan
Golden color with a moderate plus nose of wax, lanolin, macadamia nuts, flowers, citrus blossom and minerals. Full body, medium plus alcohol and complexity with high acidity. More lanolin and mac nut on the palate with a candied finish.
1995 Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan
Pale gold with a nose of dried apricot, nectarine, cider, mineral, lemon curd and marzipan. Full body, high acid, this was rich and textured with high complexity. This fattened up even more on the finish and then spikes with quinine and herbs. A fine wine but worth $450? Not to me.