Oeno Files

We are very fortunate. My sister-in-law and her husband, A&C, are very generous and have great taste. For Christmas they send us a mixed case of wine from Navarro Vineyards in Mendicino County. Opening the box every year is a delight.

Tonight we had a a Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Cuvée 128 from the cellar. The winery's tasting notes say

You will fall in love with the bright lime and kiwi flavors and the sensual hint of fig.

We certainly like this wine; the nose is crisp and clean, but with a nice earthy, almost sulfurous undertone. Perhaps that earthiness is the "hint of fig" they are talking about. On the palate the taste is again very clean and dry, with a grapefruit/lime zest flavor; the flavor is more intense than the actual fruit would be, and not as sweet or as pungent. There's a really nice mineral (but not chalky) tone. It's got quite a bit of acid, and it's not at all grassy like some American sauvignon blanc (perhaps that's the bit of Semillon that's in the blend).

It's got a nice, clean, zippy finish; the little bit of malic acid at the end gives it a zippy little feeling of carbonation at the back of the tongue.

It's listed at $16 on the web site; I'd give it a A-/91.

The Menetou-Salon designation, a neighbor of Sancerre wines in the Central Loire, includes both reds from Pinot Noir and whites made from Sauvignon Blanc. We have in our possession a bottle of the 2006 white Menetou-Salon by Henry Pellé.

Did I mention that we went to the wine store again? Did I mention the email that praised the this wonderful white wine value? Did I mention we ordered a case of it, sight unseen? No? Well then you are in the same state of innocence and grace that I was on Saturday afternoon, when it was suggested we stop at our favorite shop to see what they were tasting.

Actually, we have in our possession a case minus one of the Henry Pellé, and fortunately for me and everyone else involved (which could be you, dear reader, should you stop by), Henry Pellé makes a pretty nice little white Menetou-Salon.

A good restrained sauvignon blanc, a little minerally into citrus. I initially claimed a lemon finish, but my wife suggested grapefruit and I had to agree. She thought the minerals were prominent, I found them modest. This wine is not the big fat gooseberry-and-grass-over-citrus brute out of New Zealand, which I also love, but instead a well-defined and restrained white in the Central Loire style.

We had the wine with Cajun-spiced tilapia, which was probably a bit too much spiciness for the wine, but the fish came and went, and we drank the Menetou-Salon with pleasure all evening.