Pinot Blanc

This is 100% Pinot Blanc from northeast Italy.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with some pears along with minerality.  With air just a bit of citrus comes out.  Light to medium bodied. On the palate, the pears come thru as does the minerality but the wine seems to be fading a bit.  Probably best to drink sooner than later.  Nice on its own, this will work well with lighter foods and should be nice with baked fish such as Trout.  

This is from northeastern Italy.  Ordered off the list at Eduardo's in Chicago ($70).  Pop and pour, this is drinking well.  Light golden in color with a touch of yellow.  Clear and bright.  The nose has red apples and a nice minerality.  Medium bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this has some apples but is mostly about minerality.  Tasty as well.  This is very food friendly and went well with a spring pesto salad.  Drink over the next few years.

This is a blend of 67% Pinot Blanc and 33% Malvasia from California.  It comes in a 250ML "Juice Box" that retails for $15 per 4 pack.  Pale golden in color.  The nose has some yellow grapefruit juice notes.  Light bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the tart yellow grapefruit notes come thru.  A bit bitter on the finish.  This is much better than its red counter part.  The packaging should protect the wine well over the next year or two.  It is a good choice around a pool on a hot day.  

This second vintage of Lucy’s Pico Blanco from Monterey County continues its impressive winemaking style. Comprised of 85% Pinot Gris and 15% Pinot Blanc, this is both elegant and exciting; an enticing white wine for people who don’t like white wines. It offers crisp acidity, fresh flavors of lemon zest, lime kefir, quince, white peach and Asian pear, lithe honeysuckle, fresh baked bread, light resin and a stony minerality. The Lucy label is from the Pisoni brothers and the Pisoni family has been producing wine from Monterey since the early 1970s.

It’s not often you’ll find a white wine, especially a Pinot Blanc on shelves with this much age on it. But in the capable hands of the Böcking team, this is a great find. The vineyards are located in the middle of the Mosel. This offers crisp and clean summer citrus fruits with just a hint of sweetness, making this a delightful addition to your white wine roster. The mild notes of lemon verbena, lime kefir, Asian peach, and Bartlett pear are properly supported by a driving acidity and slight minerality.

The name Pisoni is well known in the Monterey area and the Lucy label is of part of brothers Jeff and Mark Pisoni’s wide variety of offerings. A blend of 70% pinot gris and 30% pinot blanc, the result is a sum that is far greater than its parts. Wonderfully crisp and flavorful this offers muted notes of lemon-lime, guava, resin, red delicious apple, and nectarine. There’s an ever so slight tartness on the tongue, solid acidity and a uniqueness that just might make this your new go-to white. Native yeast fermentation leads to aging in neutral barrels for a lithe viscosity.

Light golden in color.  The nose has a crushed shell aspect to it along with some slight lemon peel.  Interesting.  On the palate, this is light bodied and a bit thin.  It has a tart lemon candy aspect.  A bit sweet and a bit sour.  Short finish.  It is solid and fairly priced.  It will work with lighter foods and salads.  Tasted as apart of my tasting group's exploration of this area, in general, the group liked this one a bit more than I did.  

This was interesting and unique.  It has a deep golden/orange hue to it.  I wondered if it was oxidized, but got no hint of that.  Perhaps they left the juice in contact with the red grape skins.  It is made from six varietals; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane which is how Champagne was traditionally made in the 1800's.  The nose is tight and never offered up a lot.  Some baked apples, a bit of yeast.  The palate, however, was explosive.  It is slightly sweet and I was surprised to see the label said Brut.  Mandarin oranges with a bit of ginger. 

Produced at Cave Vinicole de Kientzheim-Kaysersberg.    The nose has minerals and slight peaches.  On the palate, there are more peaches but underlying minerality.  Slightly oily texture.  Nice acidity.  Will work with lighter and medium bodied foods and on its own.  Retails for $17 which is a nice value.  

Light golden in color.  The nose is mild with pears and melons.  On the palate, there is a slight diesel note but also some slight fruit.  It has a round texture, but lacks much acidity or intensity.  It is enjoyable, but leaves one wanting for a bit more.  Some of that is the varietal but still.  $19 retail.  A very solid wine.  Drink now this may have been better a year ago.