We Royals did our summer kick-off Sauvignon Blanc tasting, with yeah you guessed it the usual contenders and a few new ones.
Contenders
Zuc di Volpe Sauvignon Blanc, Italy, $25
2008 Domaine Ricard Cuvee Les Trois Chenes, Touraine, France, $22
2006 Domaine Henri Bourgeois Haute-Victoire Quincy, Loire Valley, $16.99
2007 Groth Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, $14
Read all about it here and come back to comment.
13/07/2009 at 11:53 am Permalink
I (Tally Ho) went into this tasting with high hopes of displaying my international savior faire, given that we had two strong French contenders: the Quincy (a Royal fav) and the Domaine Ricard (a much ballyhooed mail order “gem”) not to mention a first time entry from Italy – the Zuc di Volpe, which was highly recommended by one our the Royals local purveyors. Yes, we dissed New Zealand this round; their prevalent style is over grassy for my palate but we once again included the Groth, to represent a domestic effort and strong past performer from previous SB tastings. For what it’s worth, when I assigned my ranks and guesses to the participants, I thought my favorite was the Domaine Ricard, followed by only a point with the Quincy, then the Groth and lastly the Zuc di Volpe. Intellectually, that’s what I wanted to like… but being the hopelessly corn-fed gal, I lost many cool points by once again preferring the Groth over the rest of the pack. : (
Oh well, maybe it’s not so cool and is horribly American, but it is a readily available and modestly priced SB that is consistent and reliable. Not the sexy tart, but a good little workhorse of a white for Summer quaffing.
13/07/2009 at 12:03 pm Permalink
Great notes, Tally ho! I beg to differ with your loss of cool points – there’s no shame in liking the Groth. I for one think Groth is one of not that many true First Growth Napa vintners – their Reserve Cab and regular Cab are both superlative, as are all their wines, and have been for over a decade now. In tastings we’ve conducted here at The Royal Tannin Bombs previous to our discovery of the Quincy Haute-Victoire I ALWAYS ranked the Groth numero uno! It is the go-to Sauvignon Blanc, much like the Chalone Estate Pinot Noir, because it is EVERYWHERE. I think it’s a little over priced to be given absolutely full-marks, but then again as it is from a Ferrari wine maker it definitely deserves to command that higher price point.