Sauvignon Blanc- anyone notice this?

[ludja]

Also went to a friends house for a small wine tasting on Saturday and had another nice un-oaked S.Blanc:

STERLING VINEYARDS® NORTH COAST SAUVIGNON BLANC 2003

Here are some tasting notes from Sterling's website

Clear medium straw in color. The 2003 Sauvignon Blanc offers aromas of ripe fresh tropical fruit - pineapple, mango and passion fruit with hints of crisp lemon and fresh apricot. On the palate the wine shows notes of ripe fresh pineapple and mango, refreshing Meyer lemon, with a dry, clean finish.

Notes on winemaking:

After pressing, chilling and settling, the juice was inoculated and fermented entirely in refrigerated stainless steel tanks at 50°F. The cool fermentations highlight the ripe fruit flavors of the varietal. After settling, the wines were racked, the final blend was developed, and the wine was bottled in early 2004.

Appellation: 85% Napa County, 9% Mendocino County, 6% Monterey County

Varietal Profile: 95.5% Sauvignon Blanc, 2.0% Semillon, 1.4% Pinot Gris, 1.1% Viognier

Alcohol: 13.5%

$12.95 per bottle

We also tasted a Dry Creek Fume Blanc. It was nice, but didn't have quite the crispness I like. Sure enough when I looked on their website it spends some time in oak. Have to say though, it wasn't massively oaked. Nonetheless I definately preferred the Sterling in comparing the two...

Edited April 18, 2005 by ludja (log)

[jbonne]

i realized i never posted a link to our conclusions after tasting.

Dry Creek was not far off what we were looking for, though i was looking for more punch. (curiously, it tasted better on the third day in my fridge than when we initially tasted.)

Geyser Peak, Honig, St. Supery and newcomer Two Angels were the big almost-Kiwi winners. Morgan, too, though the style wasn't entirely to my liking. but it fared well among the panel.

now i'm really curious about Wildhurst.

[Rebel Rose]

Great article, as always, Jon. It's refreshing to see consumer interest swinging away from oaky wines.

Please write about sangiovese. I love that grape and I think California versions are getting short shrift in the wine press.

[jbonne]

Great article, as always, Jon.  It's refreshing to see consumer interest swinging away from oaky wines. 

Please write about sangiovese.  I love that grape and I think California versions are getting short shrift in the wine press.

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thanks ...

sangio's been on my list for a while, along with domestic barbera. but i honestly have had trouble finding many U.S. versions that don't over-extract the fruit. they may be a different style, but at the price point, i'd usually rather go Italian.

not always, though. note today's column. am very open to sangio suggestions, but that's probably a topic for a new thread ...