Sauvignon Republic Cellars

I should have noticed this sooner: A growing number of the best Sauvignon Blancs I’m seeing now from California include significant portions of fruit that were intentionally harvested earlier than the rest in order to capture SB’s grassy, herbal goodness at lower sugars. Is this a strategy aimed at blunting the invasion of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? It certainly pulls the softer, riper style of California SB toward the more bracing NZ style, and it seems to be working well. Here’s another example: a wine picked at 22 and at 24 brix, on purpose.

Everything about this wine is deceptively soft: the aromas, the flavors, the texture, everything. But nothing about this wine is flabby. The aromas of ripe honeydew and cantaloupe melons are shot through with bright, snappy pineapple, and the plush mouthful of fruit when you sip is buoyed along by uplifting acid that emerges only late in the game, when it’s time to aerate the flavors back into aromas for the aftertaste. If you like SB on its own, this is a great cocktail candidate. If you like it with food, go for something spicier than usual. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Reviewed July 25, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.