The Noland brothers decided to do a wine tasting that we have never done before: Sauvignon blanc. This theme gave one brother a good excuse to go to the wine store since he had just drank the last one out of his cellar. Another brother brought some newly purchased sauvignon blanc just shipped in from Oregon. This tasting was very different from most of our tastings because the wines were different styles but all quite good so the end result was … interesting and unprecedented.
Wine 1
Pale yellow. Lemon and fresh cut grass on the somewhat shy nose. Nice light midpalate of lemon squirt acidity and peachy fruit. Medium finish of acidic citrus fruit. (James: palate better than the nose, hole in the midpalate, long finish New Zealand) (Bob: Darkest wine, some oak? Citrus nose with light midpalate OK finish.) (Ruth: lemon grassy – New Zealand)
Wine 2
Pale, pale lemon. Minerals and fresh lemon grass on the nose. Nice midpalate of sharp acidity, lime peel and red grapefruit. Medium finish of lemons. (James: More stone fruit, slightly fuzzy peach, lime peel – Oregon) (Bob: Lighter color, soft nose, grapefruit, high acidity with lime peel) (Ruth: Peach nose with high acidity).Overall impression: Slightly out of balance with the acidity, but still good.
Wine 3
Pale straw. Lemons and grass notes on the nose with nice minerality. Nice lemon grass on the midpalate with layers of flavors on the medium-long finish. (James: Minerality and complex. California) (Bob: Light nose, great minerals, layered finish) (Ruth: Creamy with oak) All agreed that this wine had great balance.
Wine 4
Pale straw. Peaches and tangerines on fruity and expressive nose. Midpalate nice citrus and grass but a bit light. Medium-long finish of citrus. Best nose of the group. (James: lemon and limestone, Oak, French) (Bob: Sweet nose with floral notes. Long finish with lots of citrus.) (Ruth: Oaky, not acid enough)
With food:
We had these wines with an appetizer made by Ruth, of tomato boats (seeds removed) with sautéed goat cheese medallions. All wines went well with this dish. Particularly wine #2 and #1. The cheese seemed to calm down the acidity to make it better balanced.
Wine rated:
Consensus best wine was: wine #3.
Second place was a 3-way tie between the other three wines. Not everyone agreed on numbers 2 and 3, but when the ratings were tallied they came out as a tie. In fact, everyone ranked at least two wines tied for second best or third best wine. Everyone liked all the wines and the differences between them were subtle. Each had some really nice features and some places where it fell short.
Wine revealed:
1. Trader Joe’s, Sauvignon blanc 2020 California 13% abv $7 Best QPR (Ruth’s wine)
2. Proposal Rock , Yamhill-Carlton, Sauvignon blanc 2010, Carlton Cellars, Oregon 12.4% abv $22 (my wine)
3. Flora Springs, Soliloquy Vineyard, Sauvignon blanc 2009, California 14.2% abv $20 (Bob’s wine)
4. Chateau des Roches, Bordeaux, Blanc de Sauvignon, 12.5% abv $15 (James’ wine)