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The Fleur de Napa Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. If Napa Valley is not your first thought when you think of American Sauvignon Blanc, that is ok because Napa has concentrated on the other Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon.
But back in the 1960s, Robert Mondavi kick-started the whole Sauvignon Blanc craze with a wine he called Fume Blanc. The story I heard is that he could not sell his Sauvignon Blanc wine, nobody knew what it was. So he gave it a name change and promoted the wine until it caught on. So if you are a Sauv Blanc fan you can thank Mr. Mondavi for his efforts.
This is a Trader Joe’s own brand wine so the who, what, when, and where of this wine is not known. There is a National Trademark Registry website that you can Google to find. You may be able to find who holds the Fleur de Napa trademark, but with brand wines that do not always tell you who actually produced the wine.
The store itself or a third party may own the name. That way if they build a following for the brand they can keep it going if there is a contract dispute with the winery or if they need to keep costs in check.
The Fleur de Napa Sauvignon Blanc is a 2019 vintage which indicates that this is a “young wine” meaning that it had a fairly short aging period and is made to be consumed near the time it was purchased. Cellaring this wine or waiting a few months before drinking will not improve it. With young wines, the sooner the better.
A quick check of the web showed a typical Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc selling in the $15 range. Since it does figure that the vineyards used for those wines are likely the same vineyards used for the Fleur dr Napa, this wine is well-priced at $6.99.
These young Sauv Blancs have simply produced wines, they do not need fancy techniques and complicated aging. Take good grapes, keep the winemaking simple and Sauvignon Blanc wines can shine bright. The alcohol content is 14%.
Fleur de Napa Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is a fairly clean, shiny, wheat yellow. The nose is a very pretty, bright tropical fruit, peach, pear, apple lime, and lemon, with a touch of fresh spice. This Sauv Blanc has a syrupy mouthfeel, it has some weight on the palate.
It tastes of a mix of grapefruit, green apple, and peach, there is a salty sensation (aged for a while “on lees”?), stone fruit, a light grassy flavor, and lime from a Gin and Tonic. The acidity is good, not quite lip-smacking good, but close. You will be reaching for another sip before you know it.
The Summary
- Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Calley, $6.99, what else do you need to know?
- A great drink-it-now, Tuesday night wine. The Fleur de Napa Sauvignon Blanc 2019 drinks like a more expensive (young) Sauv Blanc, but is bargain-priced.
