On the Delta
BY MATTHEW DAVIES
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One of the best things about living in this area is the magnificent San Joaquin River Delta and the recreational opportunities it provides. When the summer really heats up I head to the waters to cool down and unwind. And, of course, I bring wine (always boat responsibly).
One of my favorite wines to cool off with is as much about style and location as it is about winemaker or winery. I love Southern Hemisphere Sauvignon Blancs for warm weather because of their crisp acidity and the exotic fruit flavors they exhibit. I have chosen three of my favorites that vary greatly in location, but have the similar hallmarks of this style.
The first wine is the 2009 Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc. The Casa Lapostolle has been making wine in Chile since 1994 when Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle arrived from France with the dream of applying French winemaking techniques to Chilean grapes. Her family founded and owns Grand Marnier, the classic orange liqueur.
The wine has an expressive and fresh nose with sweet citrus fruit, white flowers, pears and nectarine with touches of lychee. They added 8% Semillon, resulting in more complexity in the nose and a rounder mid-palate, to produce a very charming wine with crisp acidity and intense flavors.
The second wine is the 2008 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. While Semillon is commonly blended with Sauvignon Blanc, this wine uses more than most, weighing in at 42%.
Cape Mentelle is in the Margaret River region of Australia, on the far southwest corner of the country. The region features limestone soils that help bring up the acidity in the wines. This wine has a nose of zesty lime and fragrant citrus blossoms. The palate features lively lemon and lime zest, with crunchy sugar snap pea and wheatgrass. Generous texture and fruit weight is well-balanced by long and even citrus acidity.
The final wine is the king of Southern Hemisphere Sauvignon Blancs, the 2009 Cloudy Bay. This wine made the Marlborough region of New Zealand famous when it hit US soil in the ’90s. The Marlborough region is blessed with a unique terroir... a cool, South Pacific climate that produces wines of great fruit intensity.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is a benchmark wine that epitomizes the vibrant aromatics and pure fruit flavors naturally afforded by the climate and soils of this remote southern wine region. The nose has deliciously vibrant aromatics that infuse the tropical fragrance of fresh passionfruit and juicy pineapples with cut grass. The palate is long and succulent, combining exotic fruits with crisp natural acidity and a hint of lime zest.
One of my favorite wines to cool off with is as much about style and location as it is about winemaker or winery. I love Southern Hemisphere Sauvignon Blancs for warm weather because of their crisp acidity and the exotic fruit flavors they exhibit. I have chosen three of my favorites that vary greatly in location, but have the similar hallmarks of this style.
The first wine is the 2009 Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc. The Casa Lapostolle has been making wine in Chile since 1994 when Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle arrived from France with the dream of applying French winemaking techniques to Chilean grapes. Her family founded and owns Grand Marnier, the classic orange liqueur.
The wine has an expressive and fresh nose with sweet citrus fruit, white flowers, pears and nectarine with touches of lychee. They added 8% Semillon, resulting in more complexity in the nose and a rounder mid-palate, to produce a very charming wine with crisp acidity and intense flavors.
The second wine is the 2008 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. While Semillon is commonly blended with Sauvignon Blanc, this wine uses more than most, weighing in at 42%.
Cape Mentelle is in the Margaret River region of Australia, on the far southwest corner of the country. The region features limestone soils that help bring up the acidity in the wines. This wine has a nose of zesty lime and fragrant citrus blossoms. The palate features lively lemon and lime zest, with crunchy sugar snap pea and wheatgrass. Generous texture and fruit weight is well-balanced by long and even citrus acidity.
The final wine is the king of Southern Hemisphere Sauvignon Blancs, the 2009 Cloudy Bay. This wine made the Marlborough region of New Zealand famous when it hit US soil in the ’90s. The Marlborough region is blessed with a unique terroir... a cool, South Pacific climate that produces wines of great fruit intensity.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is a benchmark wine that epitomizes the vibrant aromatics and pure fruit flavors naturally afforded by the climate and soils of this remote southern wine region. The nose has deliciously vibrant aromatics that infuse the tropical fragrance of fresh passionfruit and juicy pineapples with cut grass. The palate is long and succulent, combining exotic fruits with crisp natural acidity and a hint of lime zest.