The Bogle Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2016 was sourced from sustainably framed vineyards in the Monterey AVA, the Russian River AVA and the Clarksburg AVA (Bogle is located in Clarksburg). Clarksburg is east of Napa and south of Sacramento, at the end of the Sacramento River Delta that funnels cool breezes from the San Francisco Bay to the vineyards. Even though Clarksburg is an inland AVA those winds keep Clarksburg cooler than some AVA’s closer to the coast. I found this Sauv Blanc on sale for $6.99, normally it goes for around ten bucks and Wine Enthusiast magazine gave the 2016 vintage 89 points. Here is my take on points issued by wine magazines, unless I follow the reviewer and come to learn that their palate and my palate line up I can’t honestly tell if their recommendation has any bearing on how I will appreciate a given wine. And in all honesty, I don’t follow any wine mag reviewers, so here is what 89 points mean to me. To be a wine reviewer for a mainstream wine magazine, you must be someone who is acknowledged to have a solid and thorough understanding of wine. So 89 points tells me that a wine is sourced from excellent grapes, the winemaker used production techniques in line with the style of wine, that aren’t any faults or errors that were covered up during production, the wine was aged for the proper time and 89 pts tells me all these things were performed at a standard better than most. Liking the style and taste of a wine is subjective, but the quality of a wine should be quantifiable. The Bogle Vineyards Sauv Blanc is a young wine, made to enjoyed in the first few years of release, fermented and whatever aging there was in stainless steel tanks. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The color is a clean, clear, pale butter yellow with a slight green tint. The nose is pretty, delicate scents of citrus, flowers in spring, ripe pears and apples, with a light touch of tropical fruit. This is a bright crisp Sauvignon Blanc, good fruit and citrus flavors with solid acidity, but subdued compared to New Zealand Sauv Blanc in this price range. It tastes of lime, lemon, grapefruit, and pear. The mid-palate adds melon, Golden Delicious apple and kiwi. The acidity is soft making the sipping experience very enjoyable while still proving enough zip to pair well with food. The finish is light, but somehow never goes away.
The Bogle Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2016 is a highly enjoyable summer wine. As much as I enjoy New Zealand Sauv Blanc, my favorite comes from the Loire Valley in France and the Bogle reminds of France, more than NZ. I also appreciate the clear wine bottle used and the minimal labeling, that are not hiding anything, what you see is what you get. The Bogle is an excellent wine at it’s selling price and at the $6.99 sale price I found (Binny’s), it’s a steal.
