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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