White Wine Reviews
I drank these 25 wines and tasted apple, apricot, bright, fruity, honey, lemon, peach, pear, slightly sweet, stone fruit. The wines are aged, biodynamic, cru, food friendly, food-friendly, grand cru, my favorites, small production, sur lies, whole cluster and came from a variety of sources, including wine clubs, wineries, and wine stores.
Wine reviews by: Jessyca Frederick |
2021 Rustenberg Wines Rustenberg Chenin Blanc
A food-friendly white wine featuring typical Chenin Blanc floral and stone fruit flavors, but in a more subdued presentation (as compared with California).
Tasting notes: bright, apple, peach, floral, slightly sweet
2020 Tabalí Talinay Chardonnay
A Chablis-style Chardonnay characterized by mineral-driven, saline, lemony citrus bursts, bracing acidity, and a light body from limestone soils near the coast in Chile.
Tasting notes: bright, lemon, minerality
2020 Penrose Hill Firstleaf La Douleur Exquise
A touch sweet, more so than I’m used to, for a Grenache Blanc, but it had excellent acidity to balance the sugar, making it very approachable and food friendly.
Tasting notes: slightly sweet, bright, food friendly
2018 Francine et Olivier Savary Savary Chablis
This Chablis was on point with scents of apple, chalk, and a fresh energy that delivered subtle pear notes.
Tasting notes: apple, chalk, pear, bright
2014 Kuentz-Bas Riesling Geisberg
This 2014 riesling was dry, but with a hint of sweetness in the finish. I had not tasted an aged riesling before and was enamored with the complexity, richness, and structure (and really wished I had another bottle).
Tasting notes: lemon, pear, slightly sweet, aromatic
2021 Tablas Creek Vineyards Patelin de Tablas Blanc
I smelled white fruit and enjoyed an appley mid-palate (the Grenache Blanc), a hint of Meyer lemon, and a nice minerality supported by mild acidity.
Tasting notes: apple, low acid, mineral
2018 Dragonette Cellars Vogelzang Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
It is a medium-bodied, medium-acidity Sauv Blanc with Meyer lemon and grapefruit on the palate, more muted butterscotch than the nose, and at five years old, just a hint of oak.
Tasting notes: citrus, butterscotch, oak, tropical fruit
2018 Lone Madrone Chenin Blanc
With 4+ years of age on it, this Chenin was not especially fruity, but still aromatic and honeyed. The acidity and body were beautiful, offering interesting textures as the wine moved across my palate.
Tasting notes: bright, honey, apple
I enjoyed: white fruit cocktail, banana, lychee, something like Petrol (from the Picpoul), and mandarin. Still food-friendly, after all those years.
Tasting notes: bright, stone fruit
What an interesting wine! Initial impressions of stone fruit and floral notes on the nose. The honeyed character made me think of Viognier, but it was different... “waxiness.”
Tasting notes: stone fruit, floral, aromatic, citrus, bright
2021 Michelas St Jemms Crozes-Hermitage Blanc
Especially waxy when I drank it, this blend was noticeably less viscous and fruity than California versions of Rhône whites.
Tasting notes: waxy, apricot, pear
2019 Dragonette Cellars Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc
Magic in a bottle. Bright, caramel, bruléed pineapple, guava, and a viscosity that coats your tongue making it all last even longer.
Tasting notes: caramel, pineapple, creme brulée, tropical fruit
2021 Naked Wines Michaud Riesling
This white wine tastes like most other “low alcohol” white wines — apple cider. I found it a touch sweet with no acid to balance it, and flabby. 11.9% ABV.
Tasting notes: slightly sweet, apple cider, cinnamon
2021 Naked Wines Patrice Grasset Chenin Blanc
A more subtle Chenin Blanc than I’m used to, but it was balanced and food-friendly, and I’d drink it again.
Tasting notes: food-friendly
2021 Naked Wines Derek Rohlffs Pinot Gris
Fruity and bright, light white wine that tasted a little bit hot to me (the taste of alcohol). As with most Naked Wines whites, a great price for an easy drinking wine.
Tasting notes: apple, baked pear, bright, lemon
2021 Naked Wines Franc Dušak Viognier
A very subtle viognier offering typical varietal flavors like jasmine and honey, but the fruit profile was apple, not the usual stone fruits like apricot.
Tasting notes: floral, honey, apple
2021 Naked Wines Rick Boyer Unoaked Chardonnay
A beautiful expression of Central Coast Chardonnay which went easy on the winemaking to let the Chardonnay’s bright fruitiness shine on its own.
Tasting notes: creamy, fruity, bright
2021 Taboadella 1255 Villae (Branco)
A food-friendly white wine (branco is white in Portuguese) was light and refreshing with flavors of stone fruit and minerality.
Tasting notes: bright, stone fruit, apricot, peach, minerality
2021 Martelloto Wines “Special Club” White Wine Blend
The drier, lemony flavors of the Sauvignon Blanc sort of pushed and pulled on the fruitier, more aromatic Riesling and Chenin Blanc. Lacked expected brightness.
Tasting notes: lemon, fruity
2021 Martelloto Wines “M” Chardonnay
Barrel fermented for eight months, this Chardonnay was not super oaky. Signature apple and pear flavors harmonized with a touch of creaminess.
Tasting notes: apple, pear, creamy, light oak
2020 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Blanc
What I liked was that the Semillon added a bit of a honeyed, bitterish note to counteract the Sauv Blanc’s acidic fruitiness. It reminded me of a bright Viognier or a Viognier/Roussanne blend.
Tasting notes: honey, bitter, fruity, bright
2018 Roger et Didier Raimbault Vieilles Vignes Sancerre
This particular Sancerre is typical (in a good way) of what you’d expect for Sauvignon Blanc from this region — it’s fruity and bright, featuring a lemony essence on the palate with a touch of minerality.
Tasting notes: fruity, bright, lemon, minerality
2020 Michi Lorenz Sauvignon Blanc Klassik
This particular Sauvignon Blanc was not super complex, but it was bright and food-friendly — a stated goal for Michi Lorenz, who wishes to make wine “not to be loud, and to fascinate people at the same time.”
Tasting notes: mineral, saline, bright
2021 Camaraderie Cellars Pinot Gris Yakima Valley
This is an example of a wine that wasn’t especially distinctive, but was exactly as advertised, “Fresh, bright acidity matches aromatics of apple and pear.” Food-friendly, indeed.
Tasting notes: apple, pear, bright
2021 Brutocao Cellars Über Chard
A somewhat complex Chardonnay from Northern California, showcasing vanilla and caramel from the oak and stone fruit on the palate.
Tasting notes: vanilla, caramel, apricot, peach
Notice: I hold no formal wine credentials. I am a wine geek who has consumed 1000+ of bottles from 100+ different wine clubs and 1000s more bottles that didn’t come from those wine clubs. I do not accept payment for wine reviews, and I do not accept payments to influence my opinions. I happily accept free wine (and I buy wine).
Why read my wine reviews: Wine taste is subjective. What I like may not be what you like. I try to leave room for you to form your own opinions, so I don’t provide a score or a rating. I do point out wines that are an incredible value or truly not worth the money. I note flaws, wines that don’t have typicity (because this matters if you are buying wine without having tasted it yourself), when wines are out of balance, and when wines lack appropriate body.
I don’t like wasting money (or anything for that matter). I’m careful about where I spend my money and my mindset as a reviewer is to be careful about where you spend yours. I don’t believe a high price tag equals quality and I know for sure there are wines of very good quality that are also a great value.
Learn more about me or get in touch.