WineLife365

Origin: Napa Valley, California

Price: $19.00

St. Supéry is a family-owned estate winery located in Napa Valley, California.  The wines here are “Estate Bottled”, which in layman’s terms means that 100% of this wine came from grapes grown on land owned or controlled by St. Supéry.  Additionally, the folks at St. Supéry are also responsible for every aspect of the winemaking process and bottling of this wine.  The winery is owned by the Skalli family, originally from France, and they have been making wine for several generations.  While traveling in Napa Valley during the 1970s, Robert Skalli was inspired and wanted to establish an estate winery there.  His ambition was to produce wines that would be both distinctive and respectable.    

I recently had the pleasure to sample the 2008 St. Supéry “Estate Bottled” Sauvignon Blanc, and was eager to determine if Mr. Skalli achieved his ambition.  So, was the 2008 St. Supéry “Estate Bottled” Sauvignon Blanc in fact distinctive and respectable?  It sure was – on both accounts.

My initial reaction when I first raised the glass towards my lips was, “Wow – Is this really an American-made Sauvignon Blanc?”  If I were blindfolded, I would have guessed by the smell alone that this wine was produced in New Zealand, not Napa Valley.  It had that familiar big grapefruit and fresh cut grass bouquet that is reminiscent of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  But that’s about as far as the similarities go.

As I began to taste this wine, it revealed some rather distinctive characteristics.  It tasted part New Zealand and part French Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume to me.  It displayed tons of grapefruit, pineapple, lime, and passion fruit that made me pucker up a bit like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but it had this great refreshing acidic and mineral finish that reminded me more of a French Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume.  It was as if the winemaker was able to capture the best qualities of each style to create a distinctively American version.   

All in all, I totally enjoyed the 2008 St. Supéry “Estate Bottled” Sauvignon Blanc.  It also brought back some great memories of our trips to California Wine Country and the St. Supéry winery.

The bottom line on this Sauvignon Blanc:  If you’re as acidic and citrus obsessed with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as I am, but you’re interested in a wine with the complexity of a finely crafted French Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume, then the 2008 St. Supéry “Estate Bottled” Sauvignon Blanc is the right fit for you! Try it for yourself!

I award it 3 Stars out 4.

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