Served double blind, but the Vouvray call is pretty easy given the mild sweetness and a bit of wooliness. After the reveal, I think this is showing a little more aged than I would have expected, as there is a slight cidery note to this, as well as a mildly oily texture.
Served double blind. A mild peppery note on the nose. Oddly savoury with a high-toned Sharpie marker thing going on. Quite astringent on the back end, though it's the oily texture that gets more and more prominent with air. A cidery quality makes me think that this is getting long in the tooth. My 6th, group's 1st.
Served double blind. Slightly funky and dirty on the nose, alongside notes of pineapple and apple cider. Oily in texture but not too green. This feels relatively low acid, even though some of it does come through on the finish in a disjointed way. Not much flavour here; this is more of a textural wine with the oily components playing a big role. Slight bitterness on the finish. My 7th, group's 6th.
Served double blind. A floral/honeyed nose, with plenty of bell pepper behind the more high-toned aromatics. Seems to be classically styled, definitely drinks like a French unadulterated sauvignon blanc than most others in this tasting. Good acidity but greenness shows in the form of some astringency (think unripe green stems). My 3rd, group's 2nd.
Served double blind. This is clearly a very expensive wine (doesn't mean it's good though). Overgenerously proportioned as far as the oak, and too my glycerin for my taste. Lacks freshness. High alcohol with an astringently bitter finish (some of it from the oak). High-toned aldehydic elements as well. My 5th, group's 8th.
Served double blind. Extremely heighted cat pee notes, with some lychee and plenty more cat pee on the palate. The sweetness here doesn't work at all, and makes this wine taste like some sort of mass-produced industrial wine. Lacks complexity. Seeing the reveal on this was extremely disheartening. The château really should just stick with their one wine. My 9th, group's 10th.
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Served double blind. A really weird wine, like someone chopped up a bunch of jalapeños and then put some honey on it. A little bit of lychee on the palate as well. Not complex, but passably drinkable. My 8th, group's 7th.
Served double blind. Slight blue cheese stink on the nose (possibly an oak-related lactone aroma), as well as some apples. Quite savoury on the palate with some good acidity, but overall this is still marred by the astringency of the grape. An oddly disjoint showing with the acidity as if it were off to the side by itself (and the acidity is verjus-like in its sharpness). My 4th (yeah, I really hate sauvignon blanc), group's 3rd.
Served double blind. Sickly sweet (banana?) esters on the nose here. A little effervescent as well, but this is clearly a classically styled sauvignon blanc. Moderate oiliness coupled with a little sweetness actually brings a slight bit of balance here. It's pretty good as far as sauvignon blanc is concerned. My 2nd, group's 4th.
Served double blind. Kind of like a young riesling in that this has some tropical fruit and pineapple gummy bear on the nose. At this point I was fully confident that this was a sauvignon blanc tasting, and this wine had the virtue of tasting the least like that awful grape. Far more tropical and sweet than a sauvignon blanc should be, but at least this is drinkable, if I had to. My 1st, group's 5th.
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
From half-bottle. Served double blind. Distinctively herbal and flowery, this is incredibly distinctive and a welcome change of pace from a tasting of sauvignon blanc. Quite sweet, but with a chinato-like herbal quality. More interesting than outright enjoyable.
2017 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Served double blind, but the Vouvray call is pretty easy given the mild sweetness and a bit of wooliness. After the reveal, I think this is showing a little more aged than I would have expected, as there is a slight cidery note to this, as well as a mildly oily texture.
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2004 Araujo Estate Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard 83 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served double blind. A mild peppery note on the nose. Oddly savoury with a high-toned Sharpie marker thing going on. Quite astringent on the back end, though it's the oily texture that gets more and more prominent with air. A cidery quality makes me think that this is getting long in the tooth. My 6th, group's 1st.
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2009 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 80 Points
France, Bordeaux
Served double blind. Slightly funky and dirty on the nose, alongside notes of pineapple and apple cider. Oily in texture but not too green. This feels relatively low acid, even though some of it does come through on the finish in a disjointed way. Not much flavour here; this is more of a textural wine with the oily components playing a big role. Slight bitterness on the finish. My 7th, group's 6th.
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2012 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc Te Koko 50 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Served double blind. Undrinkable due to the overwhelming amount of pyrazines. Tastes like someone juiced a jalapeño. My 10th, group's 11th.
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2017 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre d'Antan 83 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Served double blind. A floral/honeyed nose, with plenty of bell pepper behind the more high-toned aromatics. Seems to be classically styled, definitely drinks like a French unadulterated sauvignon blanc than most others in this tasting. Good acidity but greenness shows in the form of some astringency (think unripe green stems). My 3rd, group's 2nd.
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2018 Morlet Family Vineyards La Proportion Dorée 83 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Served double blind. This is clearly a very expensive wine (doesn't mean it's good though). Overgenerously proportioned as far as the oak, and too my glycerin for my taste. Lacks freshness. High alcohol with an astringently bitter finish (some of it from the oak). High-toned aldehydic elements as well. My 5th, group's 8th.
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2017 Y de Yquem 60 Points
France, Bordeaux
Served double blind. Extremely heighted cat pee notes, with some lychee and plenty more cat pee on the palate. The sweetness here doesn't work at all, and makes this wine taste like some sort of mass-produced industrial wine. Lacks complexity. Seeing the reveal on this was extremely disheartening. The château really should just stick with their one wine. My 9th, group's 10th.
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2018 Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc Single Vineyard Te Muna Road Vineyard 80 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
Served double blind. A really weird wine, like someone chopped up a bunch of jalapeños and then put some honey on it. A little bit of lychee on the palate as well. Not complex, but passably drinkable. My 8th, group's 7th.
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2019 Fontodi Meriggio Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT Flawed
Italy, Tuscany, Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Served double blind. Corked. My 12th, group's 12th.
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2016 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc Te Koko 50 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Served double blind. Like licking a spill at a gas station. Disgusting and undrinkable. My 11th, group's 9th.
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2017 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux 83 Points
France, Bordeaux
Served double blind. Slight blue cheese stink on the nose (possibly an oak-related lactone aroma), as well as some apples. Quite savoury on the palate with some good acidity, but overall this is still marred by the astringency of the grape. An oddly disjoint showing with the acidity as if it were off to the side by itself (and the acidity is verjus-like in its sharpness). My 4th (yeah, I really hate sauvignon blanc), group's 3rd.
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2020 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly-Fumé En Travertin 83 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
Served double blind. Sickly sweet (banana?) esters on the nose here. A little effervescent as well, but this is clearly a classically styled sauvignon blanc. Moderate oiliness coupled with a little sweetness actually brings a slight bit of balance here. It's pretty good as far as sauvignon blanc is concerned. My 2nd, group's 4th.
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2020 Kenzo Estate Sauvignon Blanc Asatsuyu 85 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Served double blind. Kind of like a young riesling in that this has some tropical fruit and pineapple gummy bear on the nose. At this point I was fully confident that this was a sauvignon blanc tasting, and this wine had the virtue of tasting the least like that awful grape. Far more tropical and sweet than a sauvignon blanc should be, but at least this is drinkable, if I had to. My 1st, group's 5th.
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2009 Philip Togni Black Muscat Ca' Togni 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
From half-bottle. Served double blind. Distinctively herbal and flowery, this is incredibly distinctive and a welcome change of pace from a tasting of sauvignon blanc. Quite sweet, but with a chinato-like herbal quality. More interesting than outright enjoyable.
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