Saturday afternoon, I was shopping at AJ’s Fine Foods, and
was fortunate to be able to enjoy their Saturday tasting. This week they were
featuring wines from Cosa Obra of Sonoma County. There were 3 wines offered; a
Sauvignon Blanc, a Pinot Noir, and a red blend.
I have to admit, as winemaker Gregory Hayes introduced the
wines, I wasn’t all that enthused about trying a CA Sauvignon Blanc. You see, for the longest time, if I had to
choose a favorite varietal, it would be Sauvignon Blanc. I have loved the crisp citrus, sometimes
grassy, sometimes mineral notes, but usually prefer the New Zealand or French
styles of this varietal. It seems the CA winemakers like to introduce oak, or
too much oak for my taste, and I don’t care for that in my Sauvignon
Blanc. I say this, but at the same time,
lately, I have found myself to be somewhat bored with my favorite
varietal.
Gregory poured the Sauvignon Blanc tasting. I swirled and sniffed and was “wowed’
and “wooed” by the nose. Lush tropical fruit, peach and orange blossom. The
wine had a wonderful viscosity, more body than most Sauvignon Blancs and was
very well balanced. There was a luscious
fruity finish, so much more than the typical citrus burst. He mentioned that the wine was probably not
chilled as much as it should be, but I thought it was perfect. At this
temperature, there was nothing to hide behind. The wine is fermented in stainless
tanks, but does just a short amount of time in neutral French Oak. Fabulous!
As I was enjoying my tasting, Gregory mentioned that the
wine was 100% Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Musqué. When I sat down to write
this, my curiosity led me to learn more about this Musqué. A Musqué
is a clone or mutation of the parent grape that has Muscat (highly perfumed)
qualities. Sauvignon Musqué is not yet recognized as a varietal, thus, though unique,
is still considered Sauvignon Blanc. This discovery was quite exciting to me. My favorite varietal, once again, claimed and owned its distinction as my
favorite varietal. Though the importance
of exceptional fruit must be noted, this fruit, thankfully, ended up in the
right hands.
I went on to taste the other two wines, both very fruit forward
options. I also purchased the
Proprietor's Blend, a red blend of 96% Syrah and 4% Grenache. I enjoyed the dark fruit, blackberry and
blueberry and the wonderful peppery finish as well as the deft use of oak.
We enjoyed the Proprietor's Blend with Beef Fajitas on
Sunday evening, and I look forward to uncorking the Sauvignon Blanc very
soon. I also plan to make Cosa Obra a
stop on my next CA wine tour. Click the link below to print or save the recipe
pairing suggestion.
