$4.99, What a way to begin a review huh? Well that is what I chose to use as the lead for this article and when you get done reading this review you will see why. $4.99 is also how much (or little) this wine costs at a big box Liquor retailer. While I did go there specifically looking for a Sauvignon Blanc, I had no intentions of, let alone coming across this low priced wine and actually buying it. Well anyway, So here is how it happened. I actually succeeded on my original mission and did end up buying a Sauvignon Blanc that ran around $20 but as I was walking to the register I came across wines lined up in the main walkway and ya see, there was this wine. This particular wine was a Sauvignon Blanc as well only it cost $4.99 and well.....how could I resist? So here we are reviewing that particular $4.99 which is the non-vintage Santiago Station Sauvignon Blanc from the "Devils Back" (Central Valley) in Chile, the wine comes in at %12.5 Alcohol. What can you and I expect from a wine that is less than $5 and from a place named Devils Back as well? Read on and you will find out.
Lets start with the closure of this very inexpensive wine. Most of us will not be surprised to find that we are talking about a screw cap and you all know my feelings on that. In the case of a wine at this price point I can find it in my Heart to excuse that. Upon opening the wine and bringing it to my nose I wasn't surprised to find that the Bouquet was just as packed as some of the same varietal that cost a lot more. On the opening of the wine there was some rather nice Pear that brought to mind the soon to come Summer season and the words pool, pool, pool was screaming in my mind. Next up was Green Apple which came just as quickly to my nose and continued thoughts of the pool combined with thoughts of the Summer Sun were still again in my mind. I actually started to think about going to purchase a Bathing Suite now. A very tropical Bouquet was being presented here indeed and I was liking it. Topping off these two different fruits was a little Lemon Grass on the nose that also peaked its way through. There is the thought of both Peach and Nectarine when breathing in the wines Bouquet and there is a debate in my mind as to whether both are actually present on the nose or not. Whether the two are actually present or not is neither here nor there because I believe that you also will have your debate I have no doubt. Either way the Bouquet was nice but none of the notes were strong enough to actually dominate one over the other but were present enough to enjoy them all. In closing out this paragraph I will for a second expound upon the fact that I have spent a lot more money on wines of this varietal as well as others (reds as well) that exhibited less of a Bouquet or one on par with this wine. So, after telling you about this rather nice Bouquet, here we go onto the Palette and how this wine presented itself there.
To me, this is where the wine excels and earns a ton more respect than it's cost might imply. The first thing that I will say is that if you are looking for tons of Acidity in your Sauvignon Blanc, look somewhere else. That is not to say that there is no Acidity at all as there actually is some on the finish but that particular note is not this wines strong point. Having said that I will let you know that the little bit of Acidity that does exist is truly noticeable. Fortunately as well, the little Acidity that does exist is on the finish and helps to add a little bit of complexity to this $4.99 wine. On first tasting this wine there is an incredible Peach note that semi jumps out at you and fills the Palette superbly with bright fruit. This (as I previously said) brings the Summer season and the pool to mind, oh yeah! There is a hint of Pear on the Palette as well that shines it's way through and meshes superbly with the Pear, I couldn't ask for better. So far this $5 wine is impressing me, I hope it will continue. Moving on there is also a grassy note that is completely unexpected in this inexpensive wine. Folks don't get me wrong, this is certainly not a "sharp" Sauvignon Blanc as some of us might be use to but is a "soft" and distinctly fruity one. There also is no "green fruit" to speak of. There is no grapefruit and lime to speak of in this wine so I guess it is not what the Doctor ordered for you hard core Sauvignon Blanc lovers who expect minerality, freshly cut grass, green peppers, or herbs out of the varietal so beware and look perhaps for another wine perhaps from France as this varietal from Chile is more along the softer, less Acidic, less stringent expression of the varietal. This is in all actuality a more simple expression. Now, I said simple right?
Did I also mention that a mild note of Pineapple was displayed on the palette? I didn't? Well, it's here. No, it's not overpowering and it is on the back end as well along with the slight Acidity but it is also blended really well and yes.....I love it. You know guys, I could go on and on but why? Let's face it, in reality this wine won't truly match up to the varietal standards that some of you demand of the Sauvignon Blanc grape. As I said earlier however, it is more along the lines of the varietal that the country of Chile will present. There, I said it. Is it close enough? The answer is both yes and no. Yes it has some of the characteristics of a Sauvignon Blanc and no, it does not have enough of the characteristics of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. Will this dilemma cause a deduction in the total points from my overall rating? Yes, it will. But, will I in turn add some points due to it's price and enjoy-ability, yes, I will. Is the wine the ever so slightest hair on the sweet side? Let me answer it like this. If a 4 would be perfect in the sweetness category and a 7 would put it over the top in the sweetness category than this wine would be a 5.5. Lets get to the conclusion of my review and see what my final thoughts are.
So here we are, my final thoughts on this wine. Did I enjoy this wine? Heck yes, I really did! This is certainly a tropical fruit led wine as really to an extent all Sauvignon Blancs from Chile are but this wine does deviate a substantial amount from the varietal standards and as such that must also reflect in the total score. Putting all the pluses and minuses together however and evaluating all the pros and cons, I give this wine a fairly nice 88 (Very Good Often good value; well recommended) points. I enjoyed the wine. It held enough to the Sauvignon Blanc standards for me to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate it but didn't hold enough to this standards to score it any higher. There was enough to keep it in that ball park indeed, but not enough to bring it to the 90 point mark, not enough adherence to the varietal to justify the reaching or breaking of the 90 point mark. My final recommendation on this wine is to stock up on it and get ready for the pool and the Summer. In fact, buy more than enough to make it through this Summer and put some away for next Summer, it is $4.99 and it will last. Nice job on creating the wine folks.
One last thing. What words would I use to describe this wine? Rich, Tropical fruit forward, smooth, citrus fruit, ever so slight Lemon Grass, nice yet light on the finish, acidity, Green Apple,
The Desert Wine Guy
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