Winey Tasting Notes: Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc

I seem to be on a Sauvignon Blanc kick these days. It may be the direct result of summer finally arriving here in Cleveland. And the temperature is finally in the 80’s instead of the humidity level and/or chance of rain being in the 80’s. It seems that these conditions have me reaching for a bottle of cool and crisp white wine time and again. I’m okay with that, by the way.

From the bottle label, to give you an idea of where that 39th parallel hits.

In my previous review, I talked about Scratchpad Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, which was a very tart, dry Sauvignon Blanc. This review is also about a Sauvignon Blanc, but this one is from California.

It’s called Line 39. The “line” refers to the 39th parallel line that runs through California wine country. So now you’ve had your geography lesson for the day. Carry on.

Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc (2013, 13.9%, Lake County, California) is very pale gold in color. It starts out with a nose of melon and starfruit. It’s not the strongest bouquet out there, so don’t spend too much time trying to figure it out.

The taste of the wine is full of key limes, cantaloupe, tangerine and just a tiny hint of honey. It finished with a slightly sour, citrusy flavor. The wine is perfectly layered: the tart, citrus and fruit flavors below with that honeysuckle floating lightly above them.

Very fruit forward, but it has that little hint of sweetness that Scratchpad didn’t. That’s not to say this is a bad thing…it just goes to show you how different two wines of the same varietal can be. While the Scratchpad stayed citrusy and sour, Line 39 hits on the citrus but adds in that little extra layer of flowers. It’s not so sweet that it isn’t refreshing though, which is a good thing when your taste buds are screaming at you to give them a bit of summer while it’s still around.

If you like a white wine that’s full of crisp tartness but tinged with some sweet, you’ll like Line 39.

Cheers!