Kickass 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough

Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Country/Region/Appellation/Vineyard: New Zealand/Marlborough
Vintage: 2009
Producer: Villa Maria
Alcohol Content: 13%
Price: $16.99
Bought where: Trader Joe's

I tasted the wine on three different occasions: twice at room temperature and once lightly chilled from the fridge. Aromas and flavors evolved much better after the wine was chilled.

- Appearance is clear with pale lemon intensity.
- The nose is clean and shows medium + intensity with  fully developed aromas. There are floral notes and abundance of tropical fruit. Lychee and gooseberry are most pronounced, although some citrus and green fruit is also present.
- On the palate there is a pleasant medium-dry sweetness and medium + acidity. The prolonged length of acidity is very surprising as mouth waters very little. Since the stated alcohol level is relatively high this makes me conclude that sweetness is actually higher that what is perceived, while dryness is overstated. This is not to say that the 13% alcohol is at all overwhelming. It registers at medium / medium +, just like the body. The wine comes off very balanced. Alcohol and sweetness and acidity and flavors all intermingle, but most importantly there is a considerable overlap with aromas. Gooseberry, lychee and citrus come in waves in that specific order. The attack is strong and the finish is very enjoyable, with citrus lingering even after a minute's time.
- Conclusions are such: quality is very good (one of the best Sauvignon Blancs I've had thus far). This is decided by the amazing balance, but also the complexity of nose and palate. This wine can develop for another 3-5 years, but it will soon plateau and decline.

I had Israeli Muscato and wrote this, go figure

First times are tough. The pressure of giving enough but not overpowering; of taking everything you need and leaving something to entice you to return. First blog entries can be excruciating like that.

My goal: through Vinь & Vanь I'll attempt to demistify wine FOR MYSELF through winening up and writing down, and to have a laugh later on. Self-reflection and outer scrutiny lie in opposite time spectrums, the former lags while the latter is always two steps ahead. Hence notes on wine smelling like "peanutbutter jar wash-off" or tasting a bit like "a shriveled apple that spent two weeks comitting in a leather bag" might seem like misplaced comic relief, but they are not. I will be outmost serious most of the time.

My paycheck = wine under $40. So I'll be blowing wind into sails of the belief that excellent wine can be found in that price range. I'll start by justifying drinking what the British call "plank".

Give me a subpar wine and I'll provide five reasons to drink it:
ONE: Get a taste of what wine shouldn't taste like (also known as developing the palate)
TWO: Get a buzz, which, after enough times, will prove invaluable as your alcohol resistance grows and you are able to trully "taste" the blackberries in your fourth glass of "Ribera del Duero" as opposed to pondering over what went wrong when you kissed her after insisting that you split the bill
THREE: Keep off stroke/heart attack, provided you consume less than five ounces, as per numerous US health orgs. There is no way to reconcile Frenchmen's/Frenchwomen's high-fat diet, insurmountable wine consumption, lack of exercise with their lack of widespread obesity and eighty one year life expectancy, which is nine places behind the rice-eating, fish-stock-depleting, and whale-killing Japanese. Thomas Jefferson once exclaimed,"I have lived temperately ... I double the doctor's recommendation
of a glass and a half of wine a day and even treble it with a friend."
FOUR: Antioxidize the radical self into liberality (you will know you've accomplished this by "wine lips" or #2)
FIVE: Resveratrol out your wrinkles
SIX: Further reasoning will require further lubrication, I had enough Muscato for only five reasons