The Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is sourced from vineyards in Sonoma County, primarily the Russian River Valley AVA and the Dry Creek AVA. The Angeline brand is one of the Martin Ray Vineyards and Winery family of wines.
Martin Ray Vineyards was one of the pioneers of the single varietal Burgundian style of wine in California. Martin Ray was founded in the early 1940s and last until the 1970s. In 1990 Courtney Benham restarted the winery, and it is going strong to this day.
The Angeline brand was started to cater to wine by the glass sales in restaurants and expanded to be their affordable line of single varietal wines. The wine we are discussing today is their Sauvignon Blanc, but being a Burgundian-influenced winery, the flagship Angeline offering is their Pinot Noir.
The Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is sourced from grapes grown in both cool and warm growing areas. One way that affordable wines with grapes taken from different locations can have personality and complexity is to combine grapes with different characteristics.
Expensive Sauvignon Blanc is often produced from grapes grown in a vineyard with interesting and unique qualities. Since that vineyard can produce only so much wine, the price rises with exclusivity.
Value-priced Sauvignon Blanc (this applies to all other wines) requires the winemaker to expertly source the grapes to create a wine that mimics the more expensive wine.
The Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is a young, simply produced wine, which is exactly what I want in a well-priced (Found it for $11.99) Sauvignon Blanc. These wines do not need fancy production techniques to be bright, vibrant, and delicious.
The technical notes do not specify, but I think this wine was fermented and aged in Stainless steel tanks with no oak barrel aging. The individual vineyard lots were fermented and aged separately and then blended to taste.
Sauvignon Blanc is best known from several locations in France and New Zealand, but the grape has a long history in California. Wine aficionados may not value California Sauvignon highly, but value-priced wine drinkers can find excellent well-priced Sauv Blanc. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is clean, clear, pale wheat yellow. The nose is pretty, it does not that jump out of your glass characteristics of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but there is lemon, apple peach, lightly floral, with peach, pear, and honey.
The Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 a well-balanced wine with bold flavor and solid acidity. It tastes of grapefruit drizzled with a little orange blossom honey, crisp green apple, light spice, lemon, lime, Anjou pear, and faint mint. This is a tasty wine that is well controlled and not a show-off like some Sauv Blanc.
I did not mention a mid-palate since the flavors upfront ran right thru the body of the wine. A wine that does not have a transition can sometimes be lesser, but not here. This is a delicious wine that keeps going strong.
The Summary
- The Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is a solid well-priced Sauv Blanc and a nice change of pace from the bold New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
- The Angeline Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is not exactly shy and retiring, but it is nowhere near as bold as the NZ wines.
