The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 Savor Collective, Sauvignon Blanc

 Well folks, it is mid September as I sit in my office (my loft :) and write this review. Currently there is a large hurricane that is being dealt with on the other side of this great country and I pray that all the people who live in that area as well as First Responders remain safe.
   Today we will take a long trip from America to the country of New Zealand, the Marlborough region to be exact, and taste what I hope to be some pretty good Sauvignon Blanc. The Marlborough region is well known for the varietal of Sauvignon Blanc and after drinking some of these wines I can definitely understand why. Todays wine review is of the 2016 Savor Collective, Sauvignon Blanc. Many people might say that it's getting a little late in the year for this varietal but they obviously don't live in Las Vegas as it is 95 degrees currently at my house and living in Las Vegas that means it is still pool weather and as such, the need for a wonderful pool wine is in full force (get busy one time:). Aside from this, I don't play that game with wine varietals or clothes (no white in the Winter). Todays review wine cost $12.99 and it's alcohol percentage comes in at 12.5%. Let's move on now and I will tell you all about this wine and whether this wine is a good representation of the region.
   Beginning at the nose here I will tell you that the wine has a really nice bouquet and it is picked up the minute the screw cap (yeah I know) was lifted off the bottle. Starting off here is a wonderful and really tropical bit of passion-fruit. This is followed up by beautiful nectarine, and light to moderate honeysuckle.

   Let me talk for a second about the color of the wine in my glass. An almost clear liquid is currently resting in my glass however there are also nice tinges of gold that shine through as the sunlight hits it. Take the sun away however and the wine presented itself visually clear like water.
   Now, a little commentary on wine color in general. I have said this a million times and I will probably say it a million more times, unless a wine was made badly or something happened to it, its color really doesn't matter. As an example, if this Sauv Blanc is a little lighter or darker then "normal", it means nothing. I have had many wines in the past that did not show off anything special visually but in the end, the wine ended up being very nice. Yes, I get the fact that folks who are supposed to be wine "experts" always want that "perfect" color but again,  truth be told, aside from being visually appealing, it really doesn't matter. I too have watched those videos where those experts look at the color from all angles and make weird sounds as they take those different looks. The reality is that the color alone does NOT make for a good or great wine. All right, now that I have offended the so called wine experts, let's move on.
   Passion-fruit......there, I said it. This is the dominate note coming at me and it begins from the very moment I tasted the wine. Right now honestly I am a little put off by this note as I have never had it presented so upfront and in such an in your face way. The first thing I thought was "wow, I hope this tones down a bit because I don't like it and don't  believe that this note should dominate a wine like this wine is dominated by it". Thankfully, and to my delight, as I continued to taste the wine, a note of honeysuckle which initially sat in the background for a bit, decided it was time to step forward which was great as it assisted in subduing that passion-fruit just enough, to make it really enjoyable yet still retain some of its forwardness and slight dominance.

The honeysuckle definitely helped save the wine from what would have been certain disaster. Next up I have to say that there is a wonderful crispness / acidity here and it is something the wine is proud to show off as it absolutely should be. While this crispness / acidity is not overwhelming or in full force (any 80's R&B fans out there?) they do make their impact known starting from the mid-palette and ending at the finish, nice. Part of this crispness / acidity impact on the wine is that it also serve as a  a diversion to the passion-fruit and honeysuckle and draws the palette away from the sweetness which is expressed. No guys, the sweetness is not what I would consider to be overbearing but it does get a little closer then I would normally like. Moving on now, there is a lemony aspect to this wine that throws it's two cents into the mix as well. This lemony note is not a harsh note and ends up being inter-weaved with the passion-fruit as if they were best friends. Yeah guys.....it's nice. The lemony note is much deeper than some simple, passing note, however my mouth did not pucker and my tongue was not hit with some weird harshness that can occur with some lemon notes which are simply thrown into the mix because it is "supposed to be in there". I can always tell (and other reviewers can as well) when this note is not controlled and allowed to run wild. Many wines have been ruined because the winemaker looses control or uses this note as a compensater of some kind. There definitely is a stone fruit note here as well and it is of a light yet tropical White Peach that is blended in here which seems to "ground" the wine in a way that simply adds to its enjoyment.

   All right then, lets put this review to bed now. Simply said, I liked this wine. Yes, I'll admit that at first the passion-fruit was a little overbearing. Yes, it did it take some time for the other notes to kick in and to sort of subdue it a good bit. Was the sweetness over the top? No, but while it wasn't over the top, it was present enough to have an impact on my rating of the wine. Well how about those tropical notes? The tropical fruit notes were right on point. Did the passion-fruit remain up front? Yes, it did but as I said, it did die down enough to allow for the wine to be able to expand. Is the Marlborough region represented correctly? Well, yeah, kind of. Am I impressed with the wine? While I wouldn't say that I was impressed, I also wouldn't say that I was disappointed either. What is The Desert Wine Guy rating of this wine? On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 91 points.

                                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2020 Chloe, Sauvignon Blanc

 

   How often do you guys find yourself stuck on a particular wine varietal? That is whats happened to me the last month, I got hooked on Chardonnay and I didn't want to change or move onto another varietal. I have said before here on this blog that I am a creature of habit but this habit I took a little too far and so I had to do something, I had to go to my nearest wine varietal management class at my local church, admit that I had a problem and find a way to simply move on :) Today I am successfully in my recovery and am going to be taking a look at another white wine varietal in the form of Sauvignon Blanc which is actually my favorite. As with most wine lovers, I do love a particular style of each varietal and when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc that style happens to be the French expression, followed by the Marlborough, New Zealand expression. I believe this Marlborough style usually exhibits a balance of crispness & some (I said some) tropical fruit as well. Don't worry guys, I promise I will not get stuck here because I saw a Pinot Grigio in the store the other day that I will be looking at next. Well okay guys, let's dig into today's wine now and see what is going on with it.

   Todays wine if you haven't guessed yet is a Sauvignon Blanc and it is indeed from Marlborough, New Zealand. The wine itself is the 2020 Chloe, Sauvignon Blanc(https://www.chloewinecollection.com/wines/sauvignon-blanc/) and it cost me $11.99 at my local grocery store. The wine is screw cap sealed (unfortunately) and its alcohol percentage comes in at 12.5% alcohol.
   Checking out the label on this bottle now I had to ask myself, who is Chloe and what does she have to do with the wine? Let me be the first to tell you that there is no Chloe. There is no Chloe vineyards, there is no wife or daughter of the winemaker named Chloe. In fact,the winemakers name is not even Chloe nor is the winery the wine comes from named Chloe. I don't even think the producer of the wine even actually owns any vineyards as the back label says "extraordinary grapes, from prized vineyards in Marlborough." Chloe is simply a brand that is owned by a company named "The Wine Group" (https://www.thewinegroup.com/). As a further point of interest, the name "Chloe" is an ancient word which means "blooming".
   As for the bouquet of this wine, it is very limited. I get a light to medium note of grapefruit and some light Lychee.

   Now for the palate presentation. Before I get into this I want to tell you that I reviewed the 2019 Chloe, Sauvignon Blanc and while it is not is posted as of yet, I'll tell you that I rated it at 88 (not good) points. I hope this vintage can go it a lot better than that. The first note that comes across here on the palate is actually a combination note. This combination note is a blend of light to almost medium notes of grapefruit and Yellow Lemon. These notes are pretty in your face and surprised me coming from this wine. Presented at the same strength are notes of White Peach & nectarine. As a combination, these notes are joining in for an attack of harshness and it is pretty noticeable. Being a New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc, there is at least one more note we can expect and the wine delivers which is Lychee, what would this varietal expression be without it? My answer to that question would be, lacking. Overall there is a big sense of dryness to the wine especially towards the finish. This dryness just jumps on the bandwagon with the other notes mentioned and yeah....not good. Thankfully there is a bit of fruit sweetness and yes, it does find a way to ever so slightly tear the dryness aspect away for a second but in the long run it is too little too late to make a real difference. Gooseberry is definitely evident here as well but in reality the note just kind of adds to the wines dryness and harshness which I am disappointed in. So guys, I really don't have much more to tell you about this wine as it was rather overdone and fairly offensive on the palate. I hate to do this but I think it would be best if I just got to the conclusion of this review, I will see you there.

   Here we are, at the conclusion paragraph. Let me begin with the fact that I simply didn't enjoy the wine. The grapefruit & lemon notes was way over the top in my book and overwhelmed the palate. Those notes of Lychee & Gooseberry really just continue the hurt. I am looking some for tropicalness, fruit tropicalness in this expression of the varietal and I simply am not getting it to the extent I consider to be necessary to make this an effective or enjoyable Marlborough, New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc. Lack of fruit, acidity and any crispness do this wine in. To me this was a carton wine transferred over to a bottle in order to make it appear to be more impressive. I am sorry guys but I have to end this review here, the wine is bad, I was not in the least bit impressed. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale am giving this wine 87, drain cleaner points.

                                                                                                                                     The Desert Wine Guy

 

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