Thursday, December 06, 2007

2005 Beringer Alluvium Blanc


To celebrate the end of Prohibition I thought I'd uncork an American wine. Even better, tonight's pour comes from a winery established BEFORE prohibition, Beringer. Beringer was established in 1876, and survived the Prohibition years by selling sacramental wine for religious purposes. I applaud that entrepreneurial spirit!

I bought this wine as yet another experiment - after the great Alluvium red at our Merlot tasting I thought the white might be good? Well it was - very good, in fact. The 2005 Beringer Alluvium Blanc is an interesting blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Yellow gold in the glass, the first nose is of toasty oak and lemon rind, with some papaya, honey and lemon rind as well. Dry, smooth and creamy on the palate, with a nice lemon rind finish, and only a slight hint of heat from the high alcohol. This is one of the nicest U.S. whites I have ever had, and a nice take on Semillon. A great pairing for homemade breaded filet of sole, this wine will show up here again.
cork. 14.1% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$29.95 (SAQ)

2 comments:

Marcus said...

Story behind the story. Nice research!

Joe said...

Thanks, Marcus - it was a post by GWU20 last year that made we watch for this date. Liked this wine, may have to get some more - oops, space problem again...