Wines I'm Drinking: Six Inexpensive White Wines

Tonight I blind tasted six inexpensive white wines from my local Grocery Outlet, ranging in price from $3.99 to $6.99--hoping to find the sort of bargain that was commonplace in France during my stay there over the summer. I was disappointed. Only two or three of the wines were very interesting, and only one of those was good enough that I'd consider buying it again, but every wine is a lesson, blind tasting is always interesting and instructive. Brief tasting notes follow.

2007 Genesis Columbia Valley Chardonnay: Very pale in color, quite thin at the edge, but has a pretty, greenish tint. Scents of apricots, butter, toasted grain, lemon rind. Attractive nose. Seems rich and more full-bodied on the palate than the color suggests it will. Vanilla creme on the mid-palate. Good acid. Tart/sweet effect is interesting. Moderate to good length. Feels a bit heavy (quite alcoholic, at 14.2%). Not exciting wine, but tasty and recommended for everyday drinking. A good value at $6.99 at Grocery Outlet. Genesis is a label associated with Hogue Cellars in Washington, which has always been a reliable producer in my experience. This was the most interesting of the six wines.

2006 Tempus Two Melange from South East Australia: A blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Rousanne. A clear, medium-gold. The deepest in color of the six wines. Scents of wood, oak, vanilla, fresh vegetables, oatmeal biscuits. Not typical of wines with much Viognier in them. None of the usual peachy/spicy Viognier nose. Rather sweet on the palate--in this case, tasting like residual sugar rather than fruit sweetness. Flavors seem to fall off rather quickly. A bit hollow in the middle, but then comes back for a fairly long, sweet, not very nuanced finish suggestive mostly of pineapples. This is not the sort of wine I normally drink, but I can see it as a crisply chilled summer aperitif wine. Well enough made to be of some interest, if not my style. Good value at $3.99 at Grocery Outlet.

2006 R. H. Phillips California Sauvignon Blanc: Very pale and thin-looking. Fairly closed nose. Distant suggestions of lemons. Later hints of passion fruit, gooseberries. A bit nutty perhaps. Light on the palate. My tasting notes say "tastes like a thin Sauvignon Blanc," and that's what this is. Light, delicate, thinnish. Moderate to short. Seems thin on the finish as well. Perfumey aftertaste. Bland. Not very interesting. At $3.99 at Grocery Outlet this is cheap, but there are much better wines available at this price.

Glimmerglass California Proprietary Cuvée (non-vintage): Very pale gold. Unusual nose. Dough is the closest thing I can think of. Not unpleasant, but not the sort of scent that whets the appetite either. Rather closed. With a little time, the nose opened up a little to reveal mostly scents of wood and perhaps a little mint. Rather soft on the palate. A bit flat even. Little acid. Little fruit. Some attractive Semillon-like waxiness, but ultimately not very interesting. Inexpensive, but that's about its most appealing attribute. $3.99 at Grocery Outlet, but, again, there are much better wines available at this price point. I didn't read the label until after tasting the wine. This is 50% Chardonnay, 50% Semillon, which explains the waxiness--a fairly common trait in Semillon wines.

2006 Umamu Estate Margaret River Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc: I had high hopes for this, as Margaret River can make such good wine. I wasn't entirely disappointed. This was among the better wines of the group, along with  the Genesis Chardonnay and the Tempus Two Melange, but I'm afraid I had the likes of Leeuwin Estate in the back of my mind....

The Umamu Estate wine was a very pale straw color, thin at the edge and with a hint of green. Nice fresh nose. More powerfully scented than most of the rest of the group, but I found it hard to put my finger on exactly what was coming up out of the glass. Citrus hints. Wet paper (but not in a bad way). Not floral, but perfumed. Seemed somewhat thin on the palate. Tart. Light in body. Not especially interesting, but at least fresh and refreshing, and this seemed much more appealing after it had been open for a while. Good value for everyday drinking at $3.99 at Grocery Outlet. I'd look for this in more recent vintages.

2009 "Gaucho" Torrontes, from Mendoza, Argentina: The palest in color of the six wines. Very thin at the rim again. Distinctive nose. Odd and interesting, but not very appetizing. Something exotic, floral. Vanilla. Oranges. Incense--names like ylang ylang, patchouli, and frangipani came to mind, but I had none of these at hand to compare the wine against. Ultimately, I decided it was a soapy scent. Reminded me of certain hand soaps provided in airplane bathrooms. Tasted a bit like it smelled, too. Moderately sweet, medium body. Decent length. Interesting, but strange. Not like any Torrontes wine I've tasted before. With a little time the wine seemed drier, toastier, and a bit peachy. Pineapple guavas might be close. If you like oddities, you might find this interesting, but I can't imagine it with food, and I think tasting it once is probably enough. Inexpensive at $3.99 at Grocery Outlet.

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