Today I watched an interesting video about a guy named Gary Vaynerchuk. For those of you who aren't familiar with who Gary is Gary started a successful wine store named Wine Library (
https://winelibrary.com/) as well as a YouTube channel called WineLibraryTV (
https://www.youtube.com/user/WineLibraryTV/videos). On his video channel he talks about and reviews wines which most of the time are the same types of wines that I review and that is, wines for the average wine drinker. What Gary talked about in this particular video was about marketing a wine business. Here (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4T84SGUGDk) is a link to the video as I think that you might find it interesting. One big item that I personally took from the video is that Gary (mostly) agrees with me in as far as wine is meant to be fun and that wine can also be chosen because of mood or atmosphere. There should be no stuffiness when it comes to wine.
Now I myself do think that when you are spending some good money on a wine that the presentation of the wine by both the winery (label) and the restaurant (pour) are super important however those things alone are not the sole determiner of whether or not a wine is good or bad or for that matter whether you will enjoy that particular wine or not. As The Desert Wine Guy, these factors were really why I started my whole on line presence in the first place. It is great to see that someone who started as a wine nobody, has actually become a "marketing expert" and for the most part, agrees with me. Yes, it is at times nice to experience the pomp and circumstance surrounding proper wine etiquette but when it really gets down to it, wine is really about enjoyment. One other thing and as I have always said, wine is VERY subjective. My trash wine may very well be your wine to Cellar and vise verse. There is actually a ton more that I want to say about this subject but it will have to wait for another day. Until then please check out the WIneLibraryTV videos, you will enjoy them. So, here we go guys, a new wine review.
So just what am I reviewing today? Well folks, today I am reviewing the 2017 Baus Family Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc. I am also going to at times be comparing this particular vintage to their 2016 vintage which I recently reviewed (
https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-desert-wine-guy-2016-baus-family.html) and which I rated at 89 points. Let's go ahead now and get into the heart of this review and see if this vintage fared better or worse then the previous vintage.
Let's begin by talking a little about the basics of the wine first. I bought this wine from one of the usual alcohol warehouse type stores here in Vegas for $10.99 which is slightly less then the average price for this particular wine as the average price is around $15. This by the way is also the same price as last years Vintage. As for the Alcohol percentage it come in at 12.5% and last years was 13%, not much of a difference at all. The Label appears to be identical as well other then for the Vintage change. There still is no Baus Family Vineyards at that I can find but what little I did find is that Great Domains & Estates LLC which is a Marketing company made the Label for whoever actually made the wine. The Baus Family Vineyards name is also trademarked by Great Domains & Estates LLC as well. Whoever the producer is they have held to using a Cork to seal their wine, I am super glad to see that.
Lets take a look just at how this wine sits in the glass. Once again as with last years Vintage, when you look straight down the center of the glass the wine appears clear like Water. Looking at the wine from the outside, the wine presents itself as being an extremely pale and Straw in color wine.
On the Nose the wine is certainly putting on a display of a fairly mild yet a certainly effective note of White Peach mixed with the same Nose level of ripe Nectarine. There is a super nice Note of Honeysuckle here as well which stands above the other two notes as far as it's presentation. In my opinion this Bouquet is somewhat more pronounced then last years expression of the varietal. Now, as I have said MANY times in the past, a Bouquet no matter how bad or good it is has not much to do with the actual taste of a wine.
Now, the part we have all been waiting for, the Palate presentation. This wine simply explodes with flavor guys. Oops, did I jump the gun with that comment? Let's get back to the beginning of exactly how the wine comes across in the Mouth shall we? Taking a first sip of the wine straight down the middle of my Tongue reveals flavors of the same ripe White Peach and Nectarine notes that I picked on the Nose. Now, as the wine slides to the side of my Tongue I am getting a note of a fruity & forward Lemongrass that allows just a small little bit of sweetness to invade its personal space. This Lemongrass really shines in the wine and is very apparent and forward from the opening of the wine all the way through to the Finish of the wine. Oh yeah, speaking of the Finish, there is a bit of wonderful lively and semi bright Acidity on that end that I am really enjoying. Let's go ahead and throw in some totally evident Honeysuckle as a partial reason for the sugary type note that the wine moderately presents. This Honeysuckle is another note which transfers from the Nose and is so super refreshingly bright on the Palate that I can't help but want of this wine. I have this feeling that the Honeysuckle is also preventing the wine from becoming too Acidic and therefore doesn't even let the wine come close to that point so there should be no worries there at all.
By the way, this is as you would expect, is a fruit froward wine as I believe all of expressions of this varietal are when the grapes are grown in hotter climates which I truly believe these grapes were. Now, I don't want that to throw you off guys as this wine is not some poorly made, generic "white wine" by any means, it simply is very tropical. To add to these notes there is a mid Palate note of light Lemon Meringue that while it carries onto the Finish it doesn't present any overly tangies to the wine which I appreciate, its not a Chardonnay folks. There is a sort of sharpness to the wine but you can tell that the Honeysuckle does it's job expertly and allows just a bit of that note through yet covers the rest with its sweeter note. Quick interruption folks and I may be jumping ahead of myself here but I am loving this wine. This is a prime example of the grape and what can be done with it when properly done. All right, let's get back on track now. Lets discuss the Tropicalness (is that even a word) of the wine. Folks, this wine is just that, tropical but not to the extent where it is offensive, repulsive or a sugar bomb, there should be no worries at all pertaining to these things. Finishing up the description of this wine is a note of almost a tanginess throughout the wine that matches or passes for that Acidity and is what elevates this wine from the average hot weather expression of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. I have just now taken a sip of this wine again and actually am clapping my hands at the awesome taste that is in my mouth. Well I am done with this review so let's move to the closing Paragraph and wrap this up.
Readers I simply must be done now because I have a half of a bottle of this wine left
and I am going to kick back with my home made Blu-Ray of both 70's &
80's music videos and enjoy both. Right about now there are visions of the spring time and the Heat. I am thinking of going swimming in my Pool because this wine brings that to mind but then reality hits and says that this review is being written at the end of November so I just sit here in my Loft wishing. Wine lovers, there is a time and a place for the cooler grown grapes of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal but as for the expression of the Varietal from the Napa Valley region or regions where the heat dominates, this is the wine to beat in my book. if you have ever heard a reviewer refer to a wine as leaving a "fresh mouth feel" but didn't know what that means then drink this wine and you will have no further questions. Folks, this is not a Wine Cooler by any means and if you are looking for one that you need to go buy some. This is exceeding all expectations for the $10 range or for that matter, the $30 range of the varietal. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 93 super well deserved points.
The Desert Wine Guy
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