Varietal: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Napa Valley – California – USA
Cost: $12
Winemaker’s Notes: Barrel fermented 2009 Sauvignon Blanc is a luscious, structured wine. The nose is a blend of ripe gooseberry, apricot, and lemon zest. The palate is viscous and full-bodied with hints of pineapple, melon, and coconut, with a long, creamy finish. Basically it’s the pina colada of wine!
My Review: Like the previous bottle of Charity Case wine I tried, I do say go and grab a bottle of this if only because the proceeds go to a good cause. As for the wine itself. If you were as lucky as myself and my wife this weekend, then your home enjoyed a nice sunny weekend that just cried out for drinks on the deck. While sitting outside reading and relaxing after a Saturday morning of running errands, my wife and I decided to reward ourselves with some wine.
We opened up the 2009 Charity Case Sauvignon Blanc expecting one thing, but getting another. Maybe our expectations were skewed as most of the Sauvignon Blanc we’ve had of late was from South America and featured a heavy emphasis on citrus fruit, particularly lime and grapefruit, but had you put a glass of the Charity Case Sauvignon Blanc in front of me without telling me what it was, there’s a good chance I would have guessed it was a Chardonnay.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but the typical flavors I was expecting from a Sauvignon Blanc were instead what I would expect from a Chardonnay that had spent a few months in some oak. The creamy finish, the more robust flavors of citrus. It was a nice wine to drink on a warm March day, but if you’re going to open a bottle expecting a wine full of citrus zest, you might end up disappointed.
Calling this wine the “pina colada of wine” may be the most apt description, as the coconut and pineapple, when coupled with the creamy finish, definitely gave that feeling. I wouldn’t say don’t buy this wine, especially since it supports a good cause, just be aware that it’s not your typical Sauvignon Blanc.
