The Story
The Flower Keeper Sauvignon Blanc is an $8.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from grapes in the Monterey County AVA of the Central Coast AVA of California. ALDI does not offer much technical information on the production of this wine other than it was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, which is very common for Sauv Blanc in this price range. As a 2018 vintage, it should be a bright, juicy drink-it-now wine, best consumed in the next year or two. One thing to note is, the Flower Keeper label and packaging puts most of the retail brands in the general price range to shame. Store contract brands tend to try to save money on labeling, but here it is full color and imaginative. Since we don’t know much concerning the details for the Flower Keeper, let’s talk about the Monterey AVA.
Monterey runs from north of Paso Robles to the Monterey Bay. Not far off the coast of the Bay is a deep ocean canyon filled with very cold water. The winds coming into the Bay from the Pacific Ocean are colder than other areas of Calfornia and the winds sweep into the Bay and down the hillsides and valleys that make up the Monterey growing region. The northern Monterey vineyards are well suited for Pinot Noir and other cool-weather grapes and as you go south the climate gradually warms. But regions that are a good deal inland and/or are blocked by coastal mountains are still able to provide good grapevine weather because of those cold winds. Monterey can grow all the popular grape varietals due to this natural climate anomaly. The alcohol content is 13.5%.
The Tasting Notes
The color is a pale wheat yellow. The nose is pretty, the aromas jump out of your glass, there is peach, pear, lemon, apple, melon, tropical fruit, a hint of spice and a little cream. This is a medium-bodied, fruit-forward Sauv Blanc, but still well balanced, with a good dose of acidity. It tastes of grapefruit mixed with pear, peach and lemon, green apple, and soft spice. The mid-palate brings melon, a salty, nutty sensation, guava, and sour tangerine. There is a load of flavor in this $8.99 Sauvignon Blanc. The acidity is under control and allows the flavors to unfold. The finish is strong and long.
The Summary
- The Flower Keeper Sauvignon Blanc is a stealth cheap wine, with its colorful labeling and its expansive flavor no one will ever know it is under 9 bucks and from ALDI. Actually, I have sampled enough ALDI wines to know that their wines often bring great value.
- This is sort of the American or California version of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Rather than some of the exotic fruit and citrus flavors for the NZ Sauv Blanc…such as gooseberry and aromas of cat pee of all things, the Flower Keeper Sauvignon Blanc 2018 has fruit and citrus flavors that are found in any American produce department. It has many of the attributes that are found in the NZ wine, just with good old USA flair.
