Sauvignon Blanc--With All the Bells and Whistles

Sauvignon Blanc can be a bit of a one note samba sometimes. Don't get me wrong--even simple Sauvignon Blancs are pleasing, especially in summer when their crisp, citrusy fruit feels like it lowers your body temperature 5 degrees with every sip.

But a Sauvignon Blanc with all the bells and whistles can remind you just how terrific this variety is, and how much it's capable of delivering in terms of taste when it's in good hands.

I recently tried a 2007 Raymond Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Reserve that was sent to me as a sample. It's from Napa, and even though I often find it difficult to find good wines under $20 from that area. With a suggested retail price of just $15, this wine definitely qualifies as an excellent QPR find.

The Raymonds have been producing wine under their own label since 1971, but their roots in the Napa Valley go deep into the past. Roy Raymond Sr. came to Napa in 1933 and married Mary Jane Beringer in 1936. Roy then took an active role in the running of Beringer Winery, which survived Prohibition by making communion wine and was busy trying to rebuild following repeal. Roy and his two sons, Roy Jr. and Walter, continued to work for Beringer until the winery was sold in 1971. Then they struck out on their own, and the family now makes several lines of wine including a series of reserve wines, a series of small lot wines, limited edition wines (including a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc that looks fantastic), and the "R Collection" of budget-friendly wines.

The 2007 Raymond Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Reserve that I tasted was a delicious and distinctive wine. The fruit sees no oak and is fermented and aged in stainless steel. The Sauvignon Blanc juice is blended with 5% Semillon, which gives the wine beautiful body while retaining its crisp flavors and textures. Pale straw in color, the wine had succulent aromas of pear, lime, and hints of freshly mown grass as it opened up. As you sipped it, zesty flavors of citrus rounded out into juicy melon and then softened further into pear. There was a mouthwatering aftertaste that kept you coming back for more.

We had the wine with some simply grilled halibut and vegetables, and it was lovely with the buttery fish. The crispness of the wine cut through its fleshy richness without being tart or assertive. And with the vegetables that nice grassy note in the aromas became even more interesting, shading towards tarragon and thyme.

This is truly one of the more memorable and complex Sauvignon Blancs I've had for under $20. If you've been drinking a lot of tangy, grassy Sauvignon Blancs from down under, I highly recommend you remind your palate that Sauvignon Blanc has some other flavors up its sleeve. It's a new release, so don't get discouraged if it's not yet at a retail store near you--just keep your eyes peeled and buy several bottles when you see it. This one will be on my list of Thanksgiving suggestions come November, and you'll want to have enough to drink now and still have some left over come turkey time.