2011 J. Lohr Sauvignon Blanc, Carol's Vineyard, Napa Valley, $16
Now understand this: I'm not a J Lohr fan. The wines are admirably consistent at the mid-range California large production quality level and also well-oaked so not at all what I am interested in, but if I were at a party where the choices on the table were Black Opal, Smoking Loon and J Lohr, I'd definitely reach for the J Lohr. This one I actually bought, test driving a few selections for our Fourth of July party and finding the pickings in affordable American whites a bit slim locally.
So, is it Sancerre-like? No, nor is it as crisp or minerally as the Mercer I reported on yesterday. But it's a different style. It's very nicely detailed in an classy, elegant, high-end and feminine way and very much like the Spotteswoode style of Napa Sauvignon Blanc I used to love whenever I was lucky enough to score a bottle. There's a bit of oak but it's subtle--there's stylishly reticent midpalate fruit without the overt Kiwi citrus or the usual California tropicality, and there's enough acidity to keep it all clean and bouyant without going into the racing zone. Think Pippa Middleton, in a bottle. I was quite taken with it.