As a long-time lover of mineral Sancerre wines and a frequent admirer of lively Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, I confess that I sometimes wonder why California vintners don’t just cut bait on this variety and leave it to regions that can make more energetic renditions. But then, I taste a wine like this. It is indeed medium-bodied, as is the norm in sunny California, and the fruit is certainly in the riper melon band (rather than citrus) of the Sauvignon spectrum, yet it is enlivened by a bright edge of lime and layered with an accent of dried herbs. Bartender, I’ll have another one of these! Fine fruit, well wrought. A Double Gold award winner at the 2018 Toast of the Coast Wine Competition.
Tangent, Edna Valley (Central Coast, California) Sauvignon Blanc 2016
By Michael Franz