New Age White Wine
Wine: New Age White Wine
Grapes: Sauvignon blanc (50 percent), malvasia (50 percent)
Region: Mendoza, Argentina
Vintage: Nonvintage
Price: $8.99
In the glass: New Age White Wine is a very ale-lemon yellow with a clean, bright core going out into a glass-clear meniscus and medium-high viscosity.
On the nose: There is an immediate floral characteristic to this wine with petunias, gardenias and jasmine blossom; then sweet peach rind, citrusy, almost kaffir lime-type notes and ripe apricots; and some degree of fruity minerality.
On the palate: New Age White Wine is very light-bodied, but utterly crisp and clean with a sweetish attack on the palate filled with honeydew melon, apricot flesh and zippy, zesty citrus fruit. It has effervescence, and the sparkly quality of the wine adds freshness and again floral and peachy flavors to the experience.
Odds and ends: New Age White Wine comes from Bodega Valentin Bianchi, one of Argentina's oldest wineries. It is a blended wine that has added carbon dioxide, so it is not present in the wine from a natural fermentation, and is therefore not like a moscato or cava. I have not had anything as refreshing as this for a long time. This fun light wine is perfect for the summer season, as an aperitif or with a prawn cocktail. Because this wine is under a screwcap, you can keep it in the fridge and enjoy over several days. Drink it now through the hot season on the rocks with a slice of lime or lemon.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
