I had a weird day today as I had to do something I don't normally do which is go to the laundromat. It seems that one of my kids decided she should (or could) put very wet bedding into the dryer. Well, that didn't go over to well and she burned out either the heating fuse or, the entire heating element, I don't know which one. Whatever she burned out, the dryer doesn't get hot anymore and in order to fix it, I would have to remove the entire front panel, take off the belt... remove the drum and, Look guys, I can change an air filter and replace a headlight but beyond that, you don't want me working on much else. Not only that but the heating element cost $285 and I would then have to put the dryer back together...properly. Honestly it would be better and pay off in the long run if I just bought a whole new dryer along with an extended warranty to cover it for five years. Oh well, I guess this is why I went back to work :) oh yeah, I work as well in order to buy decent wine to review and speaking of wine, I just so happen to have one to review so let's get to it.
Today I have the pleasure of taking a re-look (re-review) of the 2021 Artesa, Sauvignon Blanc. I reviewed this wine previously and I obviously loved it as I have (or had) two bottles in my white cellar which means the wine scored at least 94 points.The wine
costs me a mere $12 but sells elsewhere for $26. The grapes for this wine come from the Napa Valley and the alcohol
percentage of the wine comes in at 13.5%. The bottle is screw cap sealed and the
wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc and was fermented in Stainless Steel for its entire time as well.
Label wise, things unfortunately could be better. I am not digging the label and honestly I don't remember exactly why I ended up buying the wine but I can tell you that it was not because the label caught my eye, that's for sure. The label really does nothing for me. Color wise, the label kind of blends in with the wine and in my opinion, it should stand out a bit rather than just blend in. I think there should be some type of contrast between the wine and the label, something to catch my eye.
Now for the palate. Right out of the gate I will let you know that I remember and I understand why I had two bottles of this wine in one of my cellars. I guess I am getting ahead of myself here though so allow me to back up a bit. We are all use to tasting Sauvignon Blanc as the last few years the New Zealand, Marlborough expression of the varietal has just inundated the American wine market. I too have fallen victim to this inundation as well and honestly I am not sorry. After smelling this wine in the glass there are things that I recall about this wine and one of those things is that this particular wine is a different expression of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal as it comes across a bit differently. This wine comes across as very dry, there is not much sweetness or even perceived sweetness on the palate. What a blessing this is as I am so sick and tired of white wines that are loaded with bright fruit and a big time note of what at least comes across at least as sweetness. Let's get to tasting this wine.
So anyway, after tasting the wine now, Yes, there is just a bit of fruit sweetness that comes across but you also have to keep in mind that I am very sensitive to sweetness or the perception of sweetness in my wines so you might not detect this slight sweetness. This should tell you just how nice or how little that bit of sweetness really is here. Lemongrass is of course here but it is well controlled and comes across as a note that is not looking to dominate or go crazy. This is a big part in how this wine stands out from a Marlborough example. Fruit is here for sure in the form of Green apple and intermixed with a wonderfully fresh note of nectarine. What really sets this wine off as well is just how the acidity is absolutely perfectly on point and expresses itself throughout the wine. A note of pineapple is here as well and it is very well integrated as well so you don't take a sip of the wine and get hit with a heavy pineapple not. This note is wonderfully integrated into the wine. 
Taking a big sip into my mouth now and allowing it to swirl throughout my palate, this wine guys is just amazing and in my opinion there is nothing offensive about it. I am going to go out on a limb right now and say that I originally gave this wine 95 points but if you hold on, I will check my previous review and let you know. Continuing to taste this wine revealed a note of Jasmine blossom here on the palate and unlike a lot of other wines,
it is super nice and without bringing in a lot of sweetness either. What is really awesome here is that there is an
underlying crispness to the wine. I am not speaking of a crispness that
will turn this into a super dry wine but rather a crispness that lets you know that his
is a well thought out and well made wine. Speaking of dryness, there is a dryness note to the wine in general as well as a driness feel to the wine as well. There are a few notes here that elevate this wine to the score that I am
going to be rating it and this dryness note is one of them. As a last note, Lemon Verbena
is here as well and it shines nicely. The wine has a very unique sense of itself here in reference to putting on display a show of cleanness and purity and I enjoyed every bit of it..
Overall there has to
be a balance in a wine and that is one of the areas that this winemaker excels at.
Whomever the winemaker is here they did a very nice job in the creation of this wine, Even for $26 this wine is well worth the price. Looking back at my previous rating of this wine I saw that I had given it 94 points but here, in the end, on The Desert Wine guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 95 points.
The Desert Wine Guy
You should all know or understand that palates do change and I guess mine did, just a bit.
This is a great wine folks and on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am upping that original 94 points to 95 points. Man am I happy right now. I do have to warn you about something. For whatever reason, I am feeling the effects of the wine qnd that is not normal for me.
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