Sauvignon Blanc, the Perfect Summertime Sipper!

It’s August and it’s hot!  Now is the time to dive into a chilled Sauvignon Blanc, the perfect summertime sipper.  We think well made Sauvignon Blanc is a great wine to enjoy by the pool on a hot summer day.  It is a very refreshing wine and best served chilled.  We recently tasted 17 wines and recommended 6 of them as Very Good or better.

Our Sauvignon Blanc winner came from the Fritz Winery.  This winery has scored very well with our KWG Tasting Panel lately.  As a matter of fact, both of their entries made our recommended list.  The 2007 Fritz “Russian River Valley,” $18 offering was the winner.  This very food-friendly wine scored a Very Good+ 90 points from the KWG Panel.  It clearly was our favorite wine of the evening and our clear cut winner.  It was terrifically balanced and showed tasty lime flavors.  I personally think this wine would be a perfect match for Calvados Chicken or Pork Tenderloin with an Apple Compote Sauce.  We really enjoyed this wine.

Our second place wine came from NASCAR racing legend, Richard Childress.  His Sauvignon Blanc hails from Lexington, North Carolina.  The 2006 Childress Vineyards “Cellar Select” for $19 was a very nice wine.  The interesting thing about this wine is that the KWG Tasting Panel commented several times on how much they liked this wine but would not have pegged it for a Sauvignon Blanc.  Its honeydew melon bouquet and creamy, smooth mouthfeel gave it a different approach.  The flavor profile was green apple-like flavors with a hint lime and a touch of light vanilla.  Again it was different, but we all really liked this Very Good white wine.

Our third place wine was from Colchaqua, Chile.  Chile has been producing some very Good value Sauvignon Blanc lately.  This offering from Viu Manent is a touch dated, but clearly still showing strong.  The 2005 Viu Manent “Secreto,” $13 had a little zip to it.  It was balanced with green apple flavors and lots of minerality to it.  We scored this wine Very Good with 87.5 points.

The rest of our recommendations are as follows:

#4 Concha y Toro 2006 “Terrunyo Block 28” (Casablanca Valley, Chile), $25 (87.4)

#5 Turtle Creek 2007 (Napa Valley, CA – Made in Lincoln, MA), $15 (87.4)

#6 Fritz 2007 “Estate Grown” (Dry Creek Valley, CA), $22 (87.4)

We have also tried several other Sauvignon Blanc wines over the last couple of months non blind that we think you would like.  The first one we would recommend is a blend.  The 2007 Cadaretta “SBS,” $22 is a blend of 73% Sauvignon Blanc and 27% Semillon. We think this wine is rather suave, very well balanced, and has very nice integrated acidity. The flavor profile is granny smith apple with hints of pear and lime.  It finishes dry and refreshing.  One of my old favorites from New Zealand is still going strong.  The 2007 Coopers Creek, $15 from Marlborough is always a good value.  This year’s vintage is well-rounded, slightly creamy, and displays slightly tart lime-like flavors.  Our last recommendation is the 2007 St Supery “Napa Valley” Sauvignon Blanc, $21.  This wine has slightly tart lime flavors.  It will appeal to fans of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and we would pair this with swordfish or chicken.

Overall, we really think Sauvignon Blanc is an ideal summer wine.  It is dry, refreshing, reasonably priced, and best served chilled.  Have fun trying these.  Cheers, Ken