Our blind tasting game—without the tasting! Can you identify a wine just by reading its tasting note? We post real Wine Spectator reviews. You use clues such as color, aromas, flavors and structure to figure out the grape, age and origin. Good luck!
Tasting Note: Vibrant, mouthwatering, ripe and succulent, showing notes of mango, peach preserves and marmalade, with a hint of ruby grapefruit. Offers a thread of Himalayan sea salt, with details of lemongrass and lemon balm that linger on the long, expressive finish.
And the answer is...
Variety
Our mystery white wine is vibrant, ripe and succulent with tropical fruit, peach, marmalade, grapefruit, salt and lemongrass notes. That’s a lot to work with. Let’s figure out what it is!
We can begin by eliminating Viognier, which tends to make white wines with lower levels of acidity, distinctively oily textures and pastry or nut details. Not what we’re looking for!
While Riesling could show our wine’s vibrant acidity and peach flavors, we are missing that grape’s characteristic stony minerality.
Torrontés is next to go. While would expect lemon and peach notes from one of these whites, we’d also expect prominent floral accents, so it’s not a match either.
A Pinot Gris could show our wine’s citrus and orchard fruit flavors. On the money? Not quite: A ripe Pinot Gris would be unlikely to show our wine’s vibrant acidity, plus we are missing some of Pinot Gris’ hallmarks, like a nutty accent.
Sauvignon Blanc can make white wines with vibrant acidity and a complex mix of peach, tropical fruit and citrus notes, often with lemongrass accents. That’s much closer to the mark.
This wine is a Sauvignon Blanc.
Country or Region of Origin
Sauvignon Blanc is an international variety, but it’s not a prominent grape in Oregon. It does grow in Germany and Argentina, but it’s not nearly as prominent as other white varieties—such as Riesling and Torrontés, respectively—in either country. France, where Sauvignon Blanc likely originates, remains a key country for the grape; in regions like the Loire Valley, winemakers use Sauvignon Blanc to make crisp white wines focused on mineral, green fruit and grass notes. This contrasts with versions from California, another Sauvignon Blanc foothold, which tend to be riper and more succulent with richer notes of tropical fruits and marmalade. California Sauvignon Blanc is the best option here.
This Sauvignon Blanc is from California.
Appellation
We know that our Sauvignon Blanc is from California, so we can eliminate Oregon’s Dundee Hills, France’s Fixin, Germany’s Nahe and Argentina’s Uco Valley. This leaves us with two Golden State options: San Pasqual Valley and Rutherford. The small San Pasqual Valley appellation lies in Southern California; Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Viognier grow across about 100 vineyard acres here, but Sauvignon Blanc is not prominent. Meanwhile, farther north in Napa Valley, Rutherford is a well-known appellation for rich and complex Sauvignon Blancs. Our choice is clear.
This Sauvignon Blanc is from Rutherford.
Age
Our Sauvignon Blanc is still vibrant with fresh fruit flavors. Bearing in mind that California winemakers often age their Sauvignon Blancs for a year or two, let’s take a look at the Golden State’s most recent vintages to figure out this wine’s age. 2023 was a rainy year for California, and that vintage’s Sauvignon Blancs tend to be on the riper side with a vibrant mix of tropical fruit, citrus, orchard fruit and lemongrass notes. California experienced record-breaking September heat in 2022; this year’s whites are often fragrant and bold with citrus, honey, floral and pepper notes. 2021 was a drought year for California, resulting in lower yields; Sauvignon Blancs from this vintage can be intense with candied citrus, ginger, wax and orchard fruit flavors. Of this group, 2023’s Sauvignon Blancs sound the most like our wine.
This wine is from the 2023 vintage, making it two years old.
Wine
This is the St. Supéry Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford 2023, which scored 93 points in the Jan. 31 – Feb. 28, 2025, issue of Wine Spectator. It retails for $42, and 398 cases were made. For more on California Sauvignon Blanc, read senior editor MaryAnn Worobiec’s tasting report, "California Success Story," in the April 30, 2024, issue.
—Collin Dreizen, assistant managing editor
