Grenache Blanc

The second wine on Sunday was quite interesting and was another first for me, a 2009 Reserve de la Saurine with a listed locale of the south of France.  The wine is 100% Grenache Blanc, a variety I am most familiar with as a grape blended in small proportions into wines from the southern Rhone.

The wine was virtually colorless but had a surprising amount of body to it.  What fruit was in the nose was limited and had an almost muscat like muskiness to it.  The taste was much the same, extreme earthiness, good acid, but little fruit flavor. There was that muskiness on the sides of the tongue that is recognizable from some of the wines where it is used in a blending proportion. A good learning experience.  The second photo shows well what coloration the wine had in the glass.

For what it's worth neither the color or the flavor improved when served in something other than the champagne glass pictured. At $18 the wine is probably a pass. 13.5% alcohol by volume.