A very French sauvignon blanc — from California
Most sauvignon blanc is fermented in stainless steel barrels, but this Starmont label from Napa's Merryvale Vineyards is partly barrel aged, more closely following classic Bordelais tradition.
Starmont Sauvignon Blanc
North Coast, California
$18.99 13.8% alcohol
PLCB Item #96149
Sale price through Aug. 31; regularly $21.99
Looking at this California white wine on a store shelf, there are two visible connections to a classic French region that a student of wine might recognize: The sauvignon blanc grape variety and this wine’s tall cylindrical bottle shape are both associated with the Bordeaux region’s wines.
As France’s largest and most commercially successful wine region, Bordeaux has had an outsize influence on wines made elsewhere. A little sleuthing reveals two more ways in which this California wine gives a nod to the traditions of Bordeaux. First, this sauvignon blanc spends a few months aging in oak barrels — an approach to this grape that is unusual outside of Bordeaux. Second, the Starmont brand is what’s known in the wine trade as a “second label” for the most affordable wines made by Merryvale Vineyards, a famous Napa Valley winery. The practice of spinning off lesser wines under another label was pioneered and popularized in Bordeaux before being adopted by wineries around the world as a means to protect the prestige and price point of their finest wines.
Sauvignon blanc is one of the most widely grown grapes for making dry white wines, known for its tolerance of cool weather and distinctive flavors of citrus and green herbs. It traces its earliest roots to the Loire Valley of northern France, near Paris, but soon arrived in the Bordeaux region, where it proved ideal for the region’s cool, moist coastal climate. Popularized in the white wines of Bordeaux, it spread from there to other wine-growing regions.
Nowadays, most sauvignon blanc is fermented in stainless steel to preserve its vivacity and freshness, but some producers like Starmont still follow the classic Bordelais tradition of fermenting at least a portion of the wine in barrels, then giving it a few months of barrel aging. This approach tones down sauvignon blanc’s assertive, lemony tartness and enriches its mouthfeel. The result is a wine where you can still discern the lemongrass notes associated with the grape, but as an accent in a milder wine that has a softer, creamier taste reminiscent of ripe kiwi or honeydew melon.
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