Sauvignon Blanc for a gift

You are most likely be heading to New Zealand although I would buy French (Sancerre) as a gift. The $ 20 / bottle limit might be tough, so do what I do: rely on the importers to make your selections. I would trust Sancerre from: Rob't Kacher; Kermit Lynch; Becky Wassermann; Neil Solomon; Rosenthal. Remember these are importers...not vintners- look on the back label. Cloudy Bay was THE NZ SB for a long time, had a slump, is coming back. A very enjoyable $18 NZ bottle is Middle Earth. These wines are meant to be drunk you so get the latest vintage you can (remember NZ and OZ are 6 months ahead of us for harvest. Also try to find St. Claire and Mt. Difficulty

 

I do not like Cali SB. If you want to try something just a LITTLE different....(same grape) you can't go wrong with the King Estates (WA) pinot gris for summer quaffing. Widely available (Costco always has it cheap) and maybe $ 15.

 

if you are in DC there are a ton of great wine shops...follow their advice. If I were you I'd put together a case of 6 SB, 3 Provence roses and 3 Vouvray (chenin blanc grape). Both 2015 and 1016 vintages in the Loire were strong. Even with a mixed case you should be getting a 10-15% discount. email me if you have additional questions

 

whoops 2016. I have no personal knowledge of the 1016 vintage. If I remember my history that was the year Ethelred died.

 

and why not throw in a great book for your colleague to read while drinking that wine?

 

Shameless self promotion. I love it. By the way, I'm about halfway through your book and I like it a lot. Great story line.

 

Thank you John. I am slogging through the sequel. I had a very rewarding book signing a few weeks ago at the old union hall in my hometown. I sold out of books (I had brought two cartons and thought most people who came would have already purchased it. I met people who knew my family, and one guy showed up - a childhood friend - who I had not seen in fifty years!

 

This lady was waiting in the parking lot a half hour prior to the signing. She grew up on Myers Street, the same street as the fictional Harry Burger. Note her T-Shirt!
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ND Flack. what did you buy?

 

Patricia Green SV from PNW.....excellent

 

I tasted a SB at a car event in Hershey PA from Thorn Hill Vineyard (CA) that was aged 6 months in oak (not chips; I talked to the winemaker.) I remember back in the 90's a couple of vintners trying this, usually w/o success. This Thorn Hill was pretty good though.
Another southern hemisphere SB that I like a lot is Huia.

 

1016 would have been surprising; but 500 years later...

In 2014, there has been a call by Haut-Brion to all vine lovers to find the oldest written mention of its vine; the result is an official written sales act of 1521, but no-one knows if that vintage still exists today...the wine was orthographied “Aubrion” at the time:

Château Haut-Brion : que valait le millésime 1521 ?

The oldest known existing vintage in France in a wood barrel is a white Alsace from 1472, which is still preserved in the hospices of Strasbourg; it was transvased in a new barrel in 2015. It has been drunk for the last time in 1944 by General Leclerc, for having liberated Strasbourg.
Most vine experts who have breathed it while it changed barrels are of the opinion that it might still be in a very good shape.

Le plus vieux vin du monde change d'écrin

Rgds