One thing we always try to do when dining out is to experience wines that we have not seen at home in Knoxville. And this time, we decided to try the Cosentino white meritage. A meritage is a blend of two or more Bordeaux grapes.
The Cosentino Winery has been on the map near Yountville in the Napa Valley since 1980. They are best known for their cabernet sauvignon. And if the information on the internet is correct, they are unfortunately closed for business as of November 2011 after 30 years of small lot wine making. What a tragic fate for Mitch Cosentino who licensed the first meritage wine, POET, in 1986. The company's motto was "Never enough wines." (Funny, I think that's my husband's motto too!) Cosentino paired with Larry Bird to produce a wine called Legends. Now the winery is under the direction of Vintage Wine Estates and they have contracted with Mitch Cosentino to work with them, so there may be many good wines in the companies future...We can always hope.
Now, about THIS delicious bottle. The menu advertised a 2007 vintage, but were told they only had 2008 available. When we looked this up on line, it looked like a happy accident, because the 2008 was much more highly rated than the 2007. (Average 92 vs. 86) This blend is 77% sauvignon blanc (Paul's favorite white grape varietal ) and 23%semillon aged in French oak.
We ate this with our appetizer of duck and an entrée of seared grouper. We highly recommend it.
JUST THE FACTS:
The color is light yellow and very clear.
On the nose, we smelled citrus, grass and minerality. Others have described the bouquet as melon, herb, and minerality and some say grapefruit.. The wine maker says lemon blossom, honeydew and quince.
On the tastebuds, I definitely got vanilla, a hint of ginger and melon flavors in a very pleasant way. Paul tasted citrus and apple. The finish was fruity and gave way to the oak.
Because of the semillion grape, this wine could be suitable for cellaring, but we suggest you enjoy it right now!
The average rating we found on this wine was 90-92.
The going price for this bottle is about $15-20. On a restaurant menu, it's about $60.
WINE QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"God in his goodness sent us grapes to cheer both great and small.
Little fools will drink too much and great fools none at all."
