Category Archives: White Wines

White Wine Review: Simi Sauvignon Blanc

Simi Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County 2007

Simi Winery Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County wine bottleUsually when in the wine shop, I try to pick up a bottle (or vintage) that I’ve never tasted before — to me, exploration and discovering something new is what wine drinking is all about. Once in a while, though — and often when I’m purchasing a bottle for someone else — I pick up a wine that I know well, and know I can “count on”. Most of these “staples” are always available, easy to find, match with a wide variety of dishes, a good value for the money, and most importantly, are reliable and consistent from year to year. Simi Sauvignon Blanc is one of those wine “staples” I purchase over and over.

Tasting Notes: Simi Sauvignon Blanc

Bright, clean aroma of fresh citrus – lemon, lime – and a hint of something green, such as herbal or grass. Equally clean and bright and expressive on the palate, with delicious ripe green and citrus fruit. Again, lemony and limey flavors dominate, with some pink grapefruit, herbal notes, and a touch of ginger spice. Texture is glassy smooth, almost creamy. Good acidity for food matching. Finishes with pleasant flavor and some tart apple notes. Overall an easy drinking, enjoyable white wine that doesn’t have to be ice cold and is nice by itself, and a good match for simply prepared white fish, pork, chicken, salads, veggies.

a-8 t-8 b-9 fc-9 v-7 ~ 91 Points

Website: Simi Winery

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Rubicon Estate Blancaneaux

Blancaneaux 2006

Rubicon Estate Blancaneaux wine bottleNot all high-quality white wines from Napa, California, are Chardonnay.

Never one to do the same thing everyone else is doing, pioneering filmmaker and winery owner Francis Ford Coppola chose to do something unusual with a patch of land on his Rubicon Estate — grow Rhone white varietals Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier.

The vines are grown against a shady hill on Mt. St. John in western Rutherford, Napa Valley, allowing for a relatively cool, long growing season that slowly but fully ripens the grapes. According to the French, it takes at least 8-10 years for Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier vines to begin producing high quality fruit (in fact the AOC requires a minimum of ten-year-old vines). Considering that Coppola’s team began planting these varietals in 1995, we’re just now beginning to experience the best Blancaneaux.

The “old” vines combined with an ideal growing season to produce a lush, delicious, and complex white wine. The exact recipe for you wine geeks is this: 51% Marsanne, 32% Roussanne, and 17% Viognier (no, I’m not sure why winemaker Scott McLeod chose to do 51 percent Marsanne as opposed to 50 or 52 … these things are best left to the professionals!). And unlike most other whites from Napa, this wine was not bathed in oak — in fact, it saw no oak whatsoever, as it was fermented and aged in stainless steel.

Tasting Notes: Blancaneaux 2006

A distinctly floral aroma fills the nose, along with ample white fruits and exotic spices. In the mouth you get bright, tropical fruit flavors of pear, white peach, melon, and citrus (lime?). There are also hints of ginger and allspice and a firm mineral note. Lots of charm and complexity. Texture is soft and velvety, and though the acidity is fairly low, this is by no means flabby and makes for a beautiful match with simply prepared scallops, pork, and sauteed vegetables.

a-9 t-9 b-8 fc-8 v-7 ~ 91 Points

Winery: Rubicon Estate

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Chardonnay Wine Review: Artesa

Artesa Chardonnay Reserve 2005

Artesa Chardonnay Reserve white wine bottleOnce in a while when I’m in the wine shop my alligator arms reach way way down to the bottom of my pocket, where I hide my twenty dollar bills, so that I can buy an “expensive” bottle of wine. I know, I know, there are plenty of people who plunk down much more than that on a regular basis — indeed, you might be one of those who regularly have Andrew Jackson as your wine enabler.

However, I tend to be — oh, let’s call it “cash challenged” — so when I go far above $15-20 for a bottle of wine, it HAS to be worth it.

In this case, it is.

The “regular” or “Classic Tier” Chardonnay made by Artesa is more in my price range — about $12-14 depending on the retailer. And it’s a very nice bottle of wine. But the “Reserve” edition, which we review here, is much better — at least ten to fifteen dollars better.

For both wines, the grapes are from Carneros, California — and if you’re not aware, that’s a good place to grow Chardonnay. The vines bearing the grapes for this “Reserve” Chard are from the highest hills in Carneros, which means they soak up more sun than any others in the region, and therefore ripen more fully and completely. Lots of sun equals lots of flavor, and in this case, the winemaker further enhances the fruit by putting most of it through what’s called a secondary malolactic fermentation. If you’re not a geek, you don’t need to know exactly what that means — all you need to know is that it makes the wine feel fuller in the mouth, and more buttery and creamy.

In addition, they put half of the juice into new oak barrels for almost ten months, which adds a nice vanilla spice complexity. You can’t do that with just any wine or it will be dominated by a woodsy flavor. With this wine, the oak both “complements” and “compliments” the ripe fruit.

On to the tasting notes.

Tasting Notes: Artesa Chardonnay Reserve 2005

Wide open aromas of ripe pear, candied peach, apple, melon, spice, and vanilla. On the palate it is equally wide open and forward, expressing ripe pear, red delicious apple, and a creamy vanilla flavor that melts into butterscotch. Acidity is mild to medium – just enough for food matching. Texture is thick and creamy, almost heavy, just short of cloying, with a luscious mouthfeel. Overall, a yummy drinker on its own, with enough structure to enjoy with food. Drink it alone or with garlic-roasted chicken, lobster in butter, popcorn.

a-9 t-9 b-8 fc-7 v-7 ~ 90 Points

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Winery: Artesa

Sauvignon Blanc Review: Maddalena

San Antonio Winery Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc 2006

San Antonio Winery Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc wine bottleWhen I first saw this wine I thought, “wow, a wine from Texas!”. After all, San Antonio IS in Texas, isn’t it?

Yeah … um … sometimes I’m not so smart.

With help from my reading glasses, a closer look at the label revealed that indeed the wine was from San Antonio Winery — a winery that happens to be located in Los Angeles, California.

But there are no vineyards in LA!

Perhaps — but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a winery.

In fact, San Antonio has been a winery since 1917, and is currently owned by the Riboli family. The Ribolis own vineyards in Napa Valley and Monterey, and also source grapes from Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara; Alexander Valley, Sonoma; and San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles — which is where this wine gets its grapes.

Specifically, the Sauvignon Blanc grapes are grown in “Steinbeck Vineyard“. Before you go Grapes of Wrath on me, go check the website yourself and let me know if you find any indication that the Ernst and Steinbeck families — who own / owned the vines — are in any way related to John Ernst Steinbeck. Hmm … a mystery for another day.

We’ll get Lt. Columbo on the case … meantime, the tasting notes.

Tasting Notes: Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc

Ripe aromas of apple, pear, herb, and a hint of ginger. Similar fruit on the palate – ripe pear, peach, apple. Nice citrus flavor as well. Texture is very smooth, almost creamy. Attractive, zesty acidity makes this a good food wine. Drink it with pork, chicken, gamey fish, dishes accented by a mild cheese sauce. At about twelve bucks, this is a good value.

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-8 v-7 ~ 89 Points

Winery: San Antonio / Riboli Family Wine Estates

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Sauvignon Blanc Review: Shepherds Ridge

Shepherds Ridge Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2006

Shepherds Ridge Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough wine bottleI picked this up because it was cheap and brought in by Stevenot, an importer who I’ve trusted in the past. Many years ago, Stevenot introduced the USA to McGuigan Brothers wines from Australia. Much has happened since then, with McGuigan going from little-known niche brand to mass-market, Stevenot filing and then recovering from a Chapter 11 filing, and many other details that have no bearing on the review here.

Shepherds Ridge is a 650-acre estate in the Wairau Valley of New Zealand that benefits from an alluvial, mineral-rich soil that features “pea gravels” — that is, pea-sized rocks that were carried by the Pacific Ocean and allow for excellent drainage in the vineyards. Interestingly, almost half of the estate is unplanted, and left as a nature reserve. This particular wine is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown on the estate, which also happens to be in the Marlborough region. If you are slightly interested in Sauvignons from the land of kiwi, then you probably already have heard about Marlborough. If not, I can assure you it has nothing to do with cigarettes, though there might be a rough-looking cowboy atop a horse in the vineyards.

That should be enough table talke to introduce the wine to friends at your next wine and cheese property, right? On with the tasting notes.

The nose is wide open and expressive, with vibrant aromas of ripe, bright fruit – limey citrus and gooseberry in particular. The palate is similarly expressive, with a big dose of ripe lime upfront. Acidity is mild to medium. Finish is rather quick, but pleasant. Enjoy it alone, or better yet, have it with appetizers, simply prepared fish, scallops, a Greek salad, vegetarian cuisine. This is a typical representation of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and a fair value at around twelve bucks.

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