This is a Wine Spectator current best buy and they gave it a 91 rating. I am a bit perplexed. On opening, there is a hint of bananas in the room which is really nice. The bouquet of this wine is fabulous and intense with citrus, and huge grassiness reminiscent of the New Zealand creations. There is even a suggestion of caramel–very nice!
*But in the mouth it is as if this wine has given all it has to its bouquet. The flavors are fine but not what you would expect after such an impressive bouquet and worse yet, there is too much alcohol coming through. The finish gives another suggestion of bananas.
This could be a situation of bottle variation with respect to he disparity between what I might rate this wine and the Wine Spectator gives it. The bouquet is a strong 91; the flavors; 85. I paid $10 for a 375ml bottle because that is all the store had. It should run about $13 for a regular 750ml bottle. Once again, it’s hard to compete with New Zealand on this particular grape! Raise a glass!
*Note: Re-tasted this wine 24 hours later and it was a much better wine! Peaches galore in the bouquet and in the mouth. The rather oppressive alcohol flavors were non-existant. Odd-but this turned out to be a better wine than first reviewed--still my comparison with respect to New Zealand S. Blancs stands!
We bought this wine and a few others because we wanted to taste what a wine spectator "rated" wine tasted like. We were disappointed. The label indicated that the wine was from Oak barrels so we expected buttery, oaky. The only flavor we found was grapefruit. We tasted the wine prior to tasting food and then while eating dinner. The wine tasted a little better with food. I will try the wine after 24 hours. Hopeful....
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