Which wines are the most distinctive and why?

WINE TALK
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As an offshoot from @Mark_Golodetz double blind thread, I’m curious which wines people think are the most distinctive and why. In reference to that thread, and for the purposes of this question, I’ll define distinctive as “easiest to identify double blind”. There are a few strata of distinctiveness so I’ve listed a few categories below with a personal suggestion for each…and a couple of honourable mentions. Please do feel free to answer either what you think may generally be true or specifically for you. In addition to potentially reframing the way I think about distinctiveness, I’d also love to get a few ideas for wines I haven’t yet tried or thought about from this perspective.

Country (or region) / Variety Combination: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc (Honorable mentions Nebbiolo / Riesling)
Producer: Musar (Honorable mention Lopez De Heredia)
Vineyard (avoiding monopole which may confound with above): Heiligenstein (Kamptal)

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Gewurztraminer - lychee fruit aroma

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Rayas … Grenache … truly unique terroir in Southern Rhone … dusky strawberry and Turkish delight spices.

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Specific to me, it feels like I can smell every Syrah opened within a five mile radius. To my nose that black olive character has all the subtly of a landmine going off. Not my favorite unfortunately :frowning:

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SRH Pinot has a very distinctive green element that I pick up. I call it tomato leaf but know that isn’t correct but can’t come up with a better description. There was a short time when I was drinking a lot of these wines where I could tell with a high degree of accuracy if the vineyard was off of 246 or off of Santa Rosa.

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Bacon fat in certain northern Rhônes.

*and in a lot of Cabot Syrahs I’ve tasted

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But that’s only the cool climate stuff . . .

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I tend to get that in Santa Maria Valley Pinots, especially Bien Nacido . . .

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Malvasia Bianca - floral, cut grass, hoppy . . .

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There is (or at least was) a difference that was clear to me. I know my terminology isn’t accurate but back when I drank both of them a lot, I almost never confused one for the other. Today it would probably happen but I drink about 2 SRH a year now and zero Santa Maria

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Do oxidized wines count? Madeira, Sherry, Vin Jaune…

Muscat varieties have the unmistakable orange blossom aroma, that is usually too intense for me.

Viognier is another aromatic grape that is distinctive.

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…. Not to forget premixed white burgundy

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Zinfandel usually has very distinctive, fairly assertive, briar fruit that probably wouldn’t disguise well in a blind tasting. Unless it was a Scherrer OMV,

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Try a Sky Zin. It has none of that.

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“Bacon fat in “certain” northern Rhônes.”

“To my nose that black olive character has all the subtly of a landmine going off” > "But that’s only the cool climate stuff ”

For me, the few comments above are the issue with Syrah meeting the definition of distinctiveness either as a variety or a region / variety combo. Personally, even within Northern Rhone, I can have difficulty identifying it when considering the whole range of expression across geography and quality level. For producer, I’ve never tried Cabot - is it uniquely identifiable?

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Ahh…the unmistakeable aromas of disappointment and frustration!

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Nice - thanks. I’ve some of both in the cellar so I’ll look for this when I do a tasting.

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"Do oxidized wines count? Madeira, Sherry, Vin Jaune…:

I shall exclude fortified and Vin Jaune.

“Viognier is another aromatic grape that is distinctive.”

Good call with a triple signature of distinctive aromatics, lower acid, and oily texture.

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Stags Leap cabs have a distinct green pepper/pyrazine note that I don’t appreciate

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This is interesting for me, because I tend to only want to drink wines that have their own unique identity.

Here are some things that stand out on first glance though…

Region/ variety combo: Cote Rotie Syrah? The savory side crossed with black fruit can be very rare anywhere else

Variety: Pelaverga. I can’t think of another grape that is very much like it, especially when it is young. Cabernet Franc would be up there pretty high too. So would Schioppettino when it shows typicity. Moscato’s (Bianco?) aromatics are incredibly distinctive whether the wine is dry or sweet.

Producer: Ar.Pe.Pe.? pretty distinct for the structure compared to other wines from the Valtellina. Biondi-Santi - 30 year old Riservas are still too young imo.

Vineyard: Monvigliero? There is also Pachino, which is more an area where a set of vineyards produce Nero d’Avola that is little like anywhere else.