WTN: '05 Easton Sauvignon Blanc Sierra Foothills

2005 Easton, Sauvignon Blanc, Sierra Foothills ($15.99). Alcohol level 13.8%. The wine was cold fermented in stainless steel and then aged for nine months in neutral French oak barrels on lees. This latter sent my antennae atwitter. There was no malolactic fermentation.

This was an almost perfectly balanced wine. It gave up pineapple and melon on the nose and upfront. On the palate the wine showed an intense complexity of fruit, crisp acid, only a hint of the oak, and a nice dose of minerality. For a white the finish lingered surprisingly.

We matched it with home smoked chicken that true love made into a salad, and she also whipped up a pasta salad with Campanelle. The two went purrrrfectly with the Sauvignon Blanc. The oak and the smoke were soul mates. It was a great meal for a very hot night and a broken air conditioner.

[Jenise]

I'm so glad you included the alcohol level in your TN. So many of the wines coming out of that area are well north of 14% these days, and knowing a wine's under can really motivate me to pay attention especially from a producer (like Easton) and a grape I like. Sauvignon Blanc seems to be particularly successsful in that area, judging by examples I've had from Karly, Amador Foothill and Joel Gott.