Tasting- “Four Bears Sauvignon Blanc”

      I went to my first real wine tasting on Saturday, January 21^st.  I’ve tasted a wine or two at a vineyard before, but never really participated in a full-on wine tasting.  This wine tasting at the Vintage Cellar was certainly quite the start... I tasted 12 wines.  It was pretty overwhelming at first, but I started to get a little more comfortable with it.  I learned that it’s very difficult to put words to some of the tastes and flavors.  I tried to find fitting descriptions, but there were a few that I really just couldn’t figure out how to describe.  The five that I’ll be blogging about left some of the greatest impressions on me, whether those were good or bad.   So here’s the first one: 

Name: Four Bears Sauvignon Blanc
(Side Note: I was a little confused because the bottle said “Sean Minor” but the info sheet at Vintage Cellar said “Four Bears.”  So a little research has told me that “Sean Minor” is the producer and “Four Bears” is the designation)

Variety:  Sauvignon Blanc

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2010  

Price: $12.95 a bottle... not too bad.  

Vintage Cellar Review:

“Rich and complex with aromas of ruby grapefruit, citrus and tropical fruit.  On the palate, the combined flavors of fresh melon, fig and lime are balanced perfectly to form a crisp mouthwatering texture and a lingering finish.”

My Review:

                I first noticed the scent of the wine.  You could smell the sweetness right away.  For me, that’s a good sign because I love sweet wines.  I don’t do so well with dry ones, but I’m trying to improve on that.  I definitely tasted the fruitiness and especially the citrus flavors because it almost had a tangy quality.  I also thought it tasted like it may have been stored in an oak or cedar barrel (some kind of lighter wood).  I definitely felt like the other fruits used in making the wine overpowered the grapes, which is not necessarily good or bad in my mind.  I didn’t have any food with it, so that didn’t impact my opinion of the wine.  It was also the very first wine I tried so I didn’t have lingering flavors of other wines to interfere with the tasting.  If I were to pair it with any kind of food, I think it would have to be a light or simple food because of the overwhelmingly sweet/tangy flavor.  Overall, I like the sweet and fruity taste so I would definitely recommend it.  It was one of my favorites if not my absolute favorite of the twelve I tried that day.