Wine School Sauvignon Blanc-French and California

The wines!

Theme:  With summer approaching, I thought it was the perfect time to explore Sauvignon Blanc from its birthplace. Both Sancerre (sahn sair) and Bordeaux claim to be the birth place of this refreshing white wine, so we tried one from each region and threw in a Sav Blanc from Napa for a comparison. The three wines were a great example on how much influence terrior in wine.


The Wines:
Domain Thomas & Fils 2012 Le Crele Sancerre

• Color:  Pale yellow
• Aroma:  Youthful nose - lemon zest, herbs, and a chalky-mineral notes
• Mouth:  Light body with crisp acidity and notes of lemon/citrus and mineral with a medium finish.
• Price:  $27.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
• Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5
• Conclusion:  Well balanced aroma bled through to the taste! Good expression of what mineral tastes like in a wine. Best wine of the evening!

Peter Sichel 2012 Sirius White Bordeaux

• Color:  Pale yellow
• Aroma:  More earthy aroma than the Sancerre with tropical fruit and slight floral notes
• Mouth:  Light body, although slightly more body than the Sancerre, smooth mouth feel with definite mineral notes
• Price:  $12.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
• Rating:  3 out of 5
• Conclusion:  Nice wine, makes a great summer sipper.

Laird Big Ranch 2012 Sauvignon Blanc

• Color:  Pale yellow with a hint of green
• Aroma:  Youthful nose definitely different than the French wines - tropical fruit and pear
• Mouth:  More fruit flavors than the French wines with a tart finish - crisp and refreshing
• Price:  $15.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
• Rating 3 out of 5
• Conclusion:  We enjoyed this wine best on its own. A nice refreshing wine for our hot St. Louis summers.

Cheeses for the evening.

The Pairings:
Sofia Goat Cheese:  Nice cheese that paired well with all the wines. It really brought the body out in the Bordeaux, our favorite pairing of the three wines.
Couronne de Touraine:  Nice pairing - our favorite was with the Sancerre.
Garlic and Herb Chevré:  Very nice with the Bordeaux!
Crab Salad:  A nice pairing with the Sancerre, the Bordeaux wine was too floral with this pairing.
Goat Cheese Pizza:  Great pairing, as Lisa says, "Woo Hoo!". Did we mention she is from Texas!! Great with all three wines. We love this frozen pizza from Target! Best pairing of the evening!
Godiva Salted Almond Chocolate:  We enjoyed with the Sancerre and Laird from California.
Godiva Salted Caramel Chocolate:  Nice pairing, we enjoyed best with the Sancerre.

Conclusion:
Beth:  I enjoy Sauvignon Blanc so this was a fun class to prepare. Most of the time I find myself drinking these wines from a domestic source or New Zealand. In full disclosure I have enjoyed Sirius, from Bordeaux, already when my husband and I took a class at the  Wine Merchant so I knew what to expect in this wine. New to me was a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. I enjoyed the mixture of mineral and lemon/citrus, and my favorite of the evening. Hands down the best pairing of the evening was the goat cheese pizza (frozen from Target)! The creaminess of the cheese plays nicely with the acidity of the wine.
Lisa:   When it comes to summer, Sauvignon Blanc is definitely my "go to" wine.  I always love the refreshing and crisp flavors they hold. Although I enjoy all three on their own, I wasn't a huge fan of the cheese comparisons.  But my favorite was the Garlic and Herb Chevre, especially with the Sirius.  I loved the crab salad with the LaCrele Sancerre!  And of course the winner of the night was the Goat Cheese pizza.  I think I'll have to stock up on that for easy dinners :).  Then there were the chocolates...My pick of the wines was the Sancerre-yum!  It was fun comparing all three wines and definitely seeing the differences.  Fun class!  And come on summer!
Mary Jo:   MMMM....With summer comes delicious whites that can be enjoyed by the pool, or outdoors on a hot summer night.  What a pleasure it was to enjoy these wines!  Overall, I loved the Sirius the most, with Laird as second and La Crele third.  Each of these wines had their own distinct flavors.  The Sirius had mineral, herb and flower notes and went very well with the goat cheese and goat cheese pizza.  The Laird had juicy pear on the nose and a tart crisp finish.  This wine went very well with the garlic and herb chèvre and the goat cheese pizza.  The La Crele had a citrus/lemon and mineral flavor that paired well with the Couronne de Touraine, the crab salad and the Godiva salted almond chocolate.  The Laird was a very easy drinking Sauvignon Blanc.  What a wonderful class to kick off our midwest summer!  Thanks, Beth!