Monday, June 30, 2014

Warm Weather White Wines: Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc 2013

Three new white wine releases by Dry Creek Vineyard were shared with me recently, and they are perfect for springtime and summer consumption.  Personally, I enjoy whites all year long.  ‘Tis the season, though, for outdoor meals and bottles of whites on ice to pair with them.  We will cover the Dry Creek Vineyard Fumé Blanc soon and we have already had their Sauvignon Blanc.  Today, their Dry Chenin Blanc.

Dry Creek Vineyard has produced Chenin Blanc since 1972, and proudly so.  The fruit for this wine comes, as it has since the '80s, from the Clarksburg appellation in the Sacramento Delta.  The winery says sandy soils, warm days and cool nights make Clarksburg a perfect place to grow Chenin Blanc.  The 2013 vintage benefitted from nearly perfect growing conditions, and it was one of the driest on record.  A mild winter and moderate summer extended the season.

This wine is 100% Chenin Blanc which was fermented in stainless steel tanks.  The alcohol is restrained at 13% abv, and a better buy would be hard to find - $12 retail.

A pale straw tint makes for a delicate sight, while the aromas come on a little more forcefully.  Big, delicious smells rise from the glass - apple, pineapple and lime with a healthy dose of wet rock minerality.  The palate is dominated by flavors of green apples and lemon-lime with that awesome blast of minerals making another appearance on the tongue.  The acidity is just perfect: very noticeable, but it's not going to carve up your taste buds.  The sip finishes so clean and zippy with the sense of lemon zest lingering long afterward.


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