I spy with my little eye

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I took this wine home from a luncheon thrown by the PR firm for the winery.

A perfect wine for the summer. I recently attended a lunch for the wine brand Heritance, with owner/creator/winemaker Bernard Portet.  At the end of the lunch a lone unopened bottle of 2011 Heritance Sauvignon Blanc begged for a home so that it wouldn’t have to be checked in baggage on the flight Bernard needed to hop right back to CA. Of course, I obliged and carted it home with me.  The Heritance Sauvignon Blanc retails for $24, has a screw cap closure, and clocks in at 13.5% alcohol by volume.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Bernard Portet might be the most charming man I’ve met in quite some time. I truly enjoyed the experience of lunch with him, and our very small group of 5 total folks.

2.) I am particularly taken with this Sauvignon Blanc. It is blended with 12% Roussanne which lends an interesting heft to the palate while not overpowering the fruit apparent in the Sauvignon Blanc.

3.) At lunch I had the wine paired with a mesclan greens, applewood smoked bacon, poached egg with a citrus vinagrette dressing salad. Amazing salad and a solid pairing with the Sauvignon Blanc. At home, we had it with Quiche Lorraine, which confirmed my initial reaction that it pairs quite well with eggs.

4.) I was jonesing for some grilled scallops while I drank this wine.

On the nose I got lemongrass, citrus, tropical notes, peach, passion fruit and a hint of the acidity to come. In the mouth I found melon, lemon, grass, tropical notes, lemongrass, and grapefruit.  The Roussanne definitely became apparent on the palate and while the wine certainly had nice acidity, the Roussane lent some weight to the wine and gave it some interesting character.

Filed under: California, Sauvignon Blanc, White, Wine | Comments Off on I spy with my little eye

2011 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Blanc

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Bonny Doon Winery.

With the weather finally turning to spring here (perhaps?) my thoughts have turned to white wines and (even more) bubbly. Keeping that in mind when I dove into the cellar for something to drink the other night, I popped up with the 2011 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Blanc. I previously reviewed the 2010 vintage here. The current vintage is a bit more Grenache Blanc heavy, at 62% with the remainder being Roussanne. Last vintage was only 55% Grenache Blanc. The wine has a screw cap closure, clocks in at 12.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for $28.

Four takeaways from this mine:

1.) While the Roussanne still made its presence known with the mouthfeel and the viscosity, it felt less dominant to me in this vintage.

2.) I imagined myself eating crab with this wine, which we often indulge in during the spring and summer months.

3.) Or simply sipping it on one of those delightful spring nights where it is still cool enough to rock on the front porch.

4.) Overall, I’ve been mightily impressed with the quality of the wine coming out of Bonny Doon.

On the nose I got yellow apple, melon, pear, lemon, orange zest, flowers, mineral notes, and slight honey.  In the mouth I found green apple, lemon, pear, and grapefruit.  The wine had a lovely mouthfeel with a slight viscosity and a long finish.

 

 

Filed under: California, Roussanne, White, Wine | Comments Off on 2011 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Blanc