WTN: St. Supery Lineup at WineStyles

2007 Sauvignon Blanc. Nice, bright, citrus, grass, good acidity, reasonable alcohol. A fine simple summer quaffer. No asparagus here, but maybe not as interesting. 86

2007 "Virtu" (half Semillion/half Sauvignon Blanc). I just didn't like the particular, specific oak flavor here. Maybe the toast? 80

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Utterly nondescript. Generic red wine. No obvious flaws or mistakes or problems, just bland. 81 points.

2004 Elu (Meritage blend). I actually liked this wine more than the last sample I had tried a few weeks ago. Nice mixture of red berry, chocolate, black cassis fruit. Very appealing structure, with some tannic backbones. Most importantly for me, a nice acidic backbone that suggests a good food wine. Too expensive, though 89 points.

I've got a bottle of Virtu 2005 in the wine fridge, that I need to open up sometime. Gail and I tasted several of the St. Supery wines in 2007 at a charity wine and food event, and we liked them generally, but then we don't have such refined tastes as most of the serious wine tasters here.

I've got a bottle of Virtu 2005 in the wine fridge, that I need to open up sometime. Gail and I tasted several of the St. Supery wines in 2007 at a charity wine and food event, and we liked them generally, but then we don't have such refined tastes as most of the serious wine tasters here.

Oh stop!

Like I said, there was nothing wrong with the Cab...it was just boring and almost $40

My unrefined palate kept coming back to the Sauvignon Blanc, which went really well with prawn risotto that the distributor bought for us all next door.

Brian,

We drink lots of their unoaked chardonnay. Good stuff.

Sam

I've been a fan of their Sauvignon Blanc for several years. Got the Semillion/Sauvignon Blanc (by the glass) at a hotel restaurant once when I thought what I was ordering was the 100% S.B. -- didn't care for the blend.

I've been a fan of their Sauvignon Blanc for several years. Got the Semillion/Sauvignon Blanc (by the glass) at a hotel restaurant once when I thought what I was ordering was the 100% S.B. -- didn't care for the blend.

Me neither. I much prefer the Singorello Seta, which is almost the exact same blend but has much brighter fruit and a better handle on oak.

St. Supery is frankly a mediocre winery with good vineyards. I would actually downgrade my score for the Elu given its price and the competition we drank this weekend to 85 points. Just not impressive.

(Robert...it's not palate refinement...I live 20 minutes from Napa Valley and I do a lot of bicycle riding that often involves a stop or two. I taste a ton of California cabs. You just get more and more picky. The hard part is when you know and like the distributor so you don't want to be too harsh. )

Hi Brian,

St. Supery was one of the wineries I visited on my recent trip to California. I tasted the Sauvignon Blanc and the 2004 and 2005 Elu'. I liked all three wines but none of them knocked my socks off. I will be posting my tasting notes in another day or two. I agree they were a bit overpriced. I did end up buying their Moscato dessert wine which I thought was the best wine I tasted at St. Supery.

[Jenise]

The St. Supery SB has long been one of those wines that one can order off a restaurant wine list when nothing else seems worth taking a chance on. Always good on its own, always good with food, never expensive.

The St. Supery SB has long been one of those wines that one can order off a restaurant wine list when nothing else seems worth taking a chance on. Always good on its own, always good with food, never expensive.

I agree that it's the best deal in their lineup. (Even here, though, I would rather drink the Perpetuum Torrontes).

The Elu is $60, and that's what bothers me about it. If it was $35, I would think it a pretty nice wine.

The St. Supery SB has long been one of those wines that one can order off a restaurant wine list when nothing else seems worth taking a chance on. Always good on its own, always good with food, never expensive.

I agree that it's the best deal in their lineup. (Even here, though, I would rather drink the Perpetuum Torrontes).

The Elu is $60, and that's what bothers me about it. If it was $35, I would think it a pretty nice wine.

Yes, St. Supery SB has been an occasional out for us on an otherwise uninspiring wine list. I did also once try the Elu, but found it rather dull. There aren't many CA SBs I prefer to St. Supery's (Merry Edwards, Mason in earlier times), but that's sort of like talking about my favorite Ukrainian pro baseball outfielders.

Mark Lipton