High-QPR Sauvignon Blancs

Sauvignon Blanc has been my favorite white wine for a few years.  As noted in prior posts, there are many alternatives for high-QPR Sauvignon Blancs.  Most are medium-bodied and on the dry side, but each wine may be lighter or heavier in body and sweeter or drier in taste.  So far, 10 Sauvignon Blancs have been discussed in this blog.  Wines under $13 include:

2009 Mendoza Station Sauvignon Blanc ($6.99 from Total Wine)

2008 Bogle Sauvignon Blanc ($10)

2008 Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc ($12.99 list price, usually can be found for under $10 -- Bottle Barn currently has it for $9.99 a bottle)

2008 Kirkham Peak Sauvignon Blanc, Marlboro ($11.99 list price -- the K&L wine club price is $8.99)

2007 Domaine Chatelain Pouilly Fume (list price $22 -- K&L has it for $9.99 while supplies last)

IMO any of the above wines represent excellent quality for the (discounted) price.  See previous posts for specific comments on individual wines.  For wines between $13 and $20, the following wines have been discussed:

2008 Angeline Sauvignon Blanc (list price $14, usually $11-12 with discount)

2008 Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlboro ($13.99 at K&L)

2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlboro ($14.99 at K&L)

2008 Clos du Bois Sauvignon Blanc ($14 list price, usually $11-12 with discount -- Bottle Barn currently has it for $9.99)

2008 Mill Creek Sauvignon Blanc ($19 list price, usually $15 with discount)

I think all of these wines offer very high quality-to-price ratios (with the discounted price).  My personal favorite is the 2008 Angeline Sauvignon Blanc.  But everyone's taste is unique -- I recommend that you try as many as you can find (at discounted prices) and develop your own QPR rankings.

For example, note that I could have picked up the 2008 Clos du Bois and the 2008 Chateau St. Jean for $9.99 during my trip to Bottle Barn today.  Combining those wines with the 2008 Angeline that I purchased for $11.20, the 2008 Kirkham Peak for $8.99 (I'm a K&L wine club member), the 2007 Domaine Chatelain for $9.99, and the 2009 Mendoza Station for $6.99 -- that gives me six solid Sauvignon Blancs to choose from.

The average price for the six wines is $9.53 a bottle.  Some of the wines might be suitable for weekday table wines (like the 2009 Mendoza Station and the 2008 Kirkham Peak).  You might find that you like the other wines better for pairing with fish, shrimp, crab, scallops, salmon, pasta, etc.  Purchasing two bottles each of the six wines would cost $114.40 -- not a large investment IMO for 12 bottles of good wine -- and you would have a selection of solid Sauvignon Blancs for a variety of meals.

2008 Kirkham Peak Sauvignon Blanc, Marlboro, New Zealand

Here is another Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  When we had this wine for dinner last night, my wife said "What a beautiful floral aroma."  I also noticed some grapefruit and citrus on the nose and palate.  This wine is medium-bodied and very smooth with no harsh edges.

From K&L Wines, "Some floral aromas with perfumed aromas of gooseberries and lime zest.  This wine is crisp and clean on the palate with notes of grapefruit, lychee and minerals.  It has a nice roundness mid-palate with zingy acidity, limey flavors and a delicious mineral finish."

The list price is $11.99, but K&L has a "wine club price" of $8.99 for members of one of their five wine clubs.  For $11.99 I think the wine is very good QPR, but if the price is $8.99, then I think the QPR becomes excellent.

2008 Mill Creek Sauvignon Blanc

This wine was awarded a gold medal and judged to be Best of Class at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in October 2009.  From the winery, "Pale straw in color with delightful notes of grapefruit and passion fruit with a touch of honeysuckle.  Richly flavored with ripe citrus and hints of tropical fruits.  Bright acidity with a medium body and lingering finish."

The list price of the 2008 Mill Creek Sauvignon Blanc is $19.00, but my local wine shop, Bottle Barn, has had it on sale for $15.  For a price of $15, I think the quality-to-price ratio is very good for an excellent Sauvignon Blanc.  Mill Creek is a small winery in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley.

2007 Domaine Chatelain "Les Vignes de St. Laurent L'Abbaye" Pouilly Fume, Loire Valley

The Loire Valley in France produces excellent white wines.  The Pouilly Fume wines are usually made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and they are typically more expensive than Sauvignon Blancs from California or New Zealand.

The 2007 Domaine Chatelain "Les Vignes de St. Laurent L'Abbaye" Pouilly Fume has a list price of $22, but K&L Wines is offering the wine at a discount for $9.99 a bottle while it lasts.  Made from 30-year old vines, this wine is a clean, crisp Sauvignon Blanc with aromas and flavors of citrus fruits.  Although it represents only average QPR at $22 a bottle, I think this wine advances to a high-QPR wine with the reduced price of $9.99 per bottle.

From K&L, "Bright attractive nose of lemon, melon, tropical fruit, and soft chalky minerality.  The palate is clean with little wisps of grass, stone and good weight which carries the bright juicy acidity all the way through to the finish."

2009 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlboro, New Zealand

This is another Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which is widely regarded as setting the global standard for this varietal grape.  Perfect cool growing conditions combine with the dry and moderate climate of the Marlboro region to produce a crisp, dry wine with citrus aromas and flavors.  From K&L, "This is a crisp and powerful, well-balanced wine with intense aromas of gooseberry, passion fruit, and citrus flavors.  This light to medium bodied aromatic wine matches well with salads, seafood and vegetarian dishes, and it is a perfectly acceptable quaffer." ($14.99 at K&L Wines)

2008 Brancott Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough

From New Zealand, the 2008 Brancott Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlboro is one of Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of 2009" and rated at 92 points:  "This is crisp, offering a lively mouthful of peach-accented grapefruit and mineral flavors, all hanging on effortlessly through the long, graceful finish.  Drink now."  Available for $13.99 at K&L.  IMO, crisp, dry, medium-bodied, delicious and very high QPR.

Back home again ... 2009 Mendoza Station Sauvignon Blanc

I'm back home again after the trip to Virginia last week.  I had an opportunity to taste some wines last week: (1) a couple of budget-priced French white wines, (2) two Cotes du Rhone red wines, and (3) two budget-priced white wines from Australia and Argentina.

The French white wines were overly sweet and not to my taste.  Being far from memorable, I think their quality-to-price ratios were average at best (and below average IMO).

The two Cotes du Rhone were from the Vacqueyras region:  2007 Domaine Mas du Bouquet Vacqueyras ($14.99 at Total Wine) and 2007 Colombier Vacqueyras ($15.99 at Total Wine).  Both wines were very good IMO with very good QPRs.  However, I didn't think they compared as well to the 2007 Grand Veneur Champauvins (see post) which I love and can be purchased for $15.99 at my local wine shop, Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa.  I believe Champauvins is a superb wine and has the highest QPR I've found so far for 2007 Cotes du Rhone wines under $20.

From the two budget-priced white wines from Australia and Argentina, I think we have a winner.  The 2009 Mendoza Station Sauvignon Blanc was the "wine-of-the-week" last week at Total Wine in Annandale, Virginia.  Advertised as "a crisp, dry white, with lemon and citrus aromas," this wine is from the fabled Mendoza wine region in Argentina and was offered at $6.99 per bottle.  I noticed grapefruit on the palate along with lemon and citrus.  Relatively dry and crisp, I thought it was a tasty Sauvignon Blanc -- very high QPR and excellent wine for the money.

Some More Whites

Here are some more white wines with good quality-to-price ratios IMO:

2008 Bogle Chardonnay ($10)

2008 Clos du Bois Chardonnay ($13)

2008 Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc ($12)

2008 Clos du Bois Sauvignon Blanc ($14)

2008 Bogle Sauvignon Blanc ($10)

2008 Clos du Bois Pinot Grigio ($15)

Check for sales and you might be able to save 10% to 30% off of the above prices. For example, K&L recently offered the 2008 Bogle Chardonnay for $6.99.

2008 Angeline Sauvignon Blanc

My favorite value-priced white wine right now is the 2008 Angeline Sauvignon Blanc (made by Martin Ray Winery, Russian River, Sonoma County, California).  List price is $14 and it is $11.20 a bottle with the case discount.  Crisp, moderately-dry, flavors of grapefruit and other citrus.  Just delicious.

My wife and I discovered this wine at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair's wine tasting in October 2008 where the 2007 Angeline Sauvignon Blanc had been awarded a gold medal and judged to be Best of Class.  We think the 2008 vintage is excellent, too -- maybe even a shade better than the 2007 vintage.  Drink it now!