Peak Summer Wines
This week’s wines reveal the joys of a white with a little complexity.
We made it through Tropical Storm Iasias! Thankfully in the city we managed with some downed tree limbs and toppled potted plants. As we’re writing this, the sun is out in full force, the humidity has decreased, and we’re getting peak August summer vibes. And what better way to celebrate summer than a trio of white wines?
While rosé is the official beverage of summer, there’s something exciting about a simultaneous blend of body and lightness that certain white wines can offer, even the ones that appear at lower ABVs than expected. Two of these wines from France pack a flavor punch while a surprising Californian blend takes a more nuanced approach that doesn’t sacrifice the dynamic fruit flavors you’d expect from Mendocino County and Contra Costa Counties.
Franz Saumon, Petite Gaule du Matin (2019)
This bubbly blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc is equal parts structured and fruity fun. In the glass, the wine features persistent bubbles with a floral and apple quality on the nose. This wine highlights the mineral quality of Loire wines but doesn’t hold back on the peachy and green apple fruit flavors we love to see. It features an acidic backbone but Saumon’s wine nimbly winds this acid throughout itself, enhancing the candied apple notes that lead to a dry, dry finish.
If bubbles are not your thing, Saumon makes an array of other exciting and relatively affordable Loire wines you can find here. When it comes to the Loire, these wines are all about highlighting minerality.
No Control, Les Crosses (2019)
Okay! We know we’re already sold out of this wine but we do have large format bottles available and we can’t recommend it enough. We also have an array of other No Control offerings to take you well beyond the summer months.
The Les Crosses white is 100% Chardonnay aged in stainless steel, which provides an array of tropical and fresh fruit notes without any of the richness you’d expect from something oak aged. We get ripe pineapple on the nose and tart green apple that turn into creamy pear notes as the wine evolves, providing necessary textural depth. As things continue to open up through repeated pours, the persistent acidity shines along with touches of lemon and stone fruit skin into the finish.
Martha Stoumen, Post Flirtation White Blend (2019)
We had fully expected to stay in France for this week’s wine tasting but Martha Stoumen’s always glorious Post Flirtation was calling, sending us on a beeline to Northern California, for a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne, Muscat blanc, and Colombard from two parcels.
Though it clocks in at only 9.5% ABV, big flavor is to be had from this seemingly diminutive wine. Whiffs of saline and kiwi fruit lead to a mineral forward palette and lower acidity that is driven by interwoven and complex fruit flavors, featuring touch of tartness from grapefruit pith, white peach sweetness, and a hint of lemon. Licks of sea spray salinity provide yet another element of beach delight. There’s something about this wine that can take us to any summer home share, even if we’re not experiencing it in 2020.
Stoumen has a number of other wines that effortlessly capture the terroir of Northern California. If you want to venture just a little further afield, we cannot recommend Craig Haarmeyer’s California wines enough.
We are excited that we’ve made it through the oppressively hot July weather into a little bit more summer quiet that August takes on. While we might be able to enjoy everything we expected from summer, a super chilled bottle of flavor packed white wine can do a whole lot to calm our mood and get us ready to sail through to the end of the summer.
