Ah, for the old days. That’s when the French made the best sauvignon blanc in the world and it didn’t cost as much as a California chardonnay.
I was reminded of this last week, when I enjoyed the 2005 version of the Jolivet Pouilly-Fume. It was pretty close to what sauvignon blanc from the Loire used to taste like, clean and crisp with lots and lots of minerality. My brain kept flashing back to the mid-1990s and oysters in New Orleans, which was a very long time ago in too many ways.
Yes, the Jolivet had some grapefruit in the front, but nowhere near as much as some French producers use days in their misguided attempt to compete with New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Wine drinkers want French wine to taste like French wine. Really.
That was the good news. The bad news is that this is at least a $20 bottle of wine, depending on vintage and where in the country you buy it. That’s the cost of two bottles of quality $10 New Zealand sauvignon blanc, which reminded me of how long ago the old days were.
Comments