Cosentino The Novelist California White Wine
Wine: Cosentino The Novelist California White Wine.
Grapes: Sauvignon blanc (50 percent), semillion (50 percent)
Region: Napa Valley, Calif.
Vintage: 2006
Price: $9.99
In the glass: Cosentino white wine is a faint lemon-yellow color with a bright, clean and clear core going out into a completely translucent rim definition with medium-high viscosity.
On the nose: There is very classic sauvignon fruit with apple sauce, white currants and underlying citrus character, with hints of flinty minerals and a touch of wood and honeysuckle blossoms.
On the palate: A clean, crisp wine on the palate with zippy, yet well integrated acidity materializing in the form of citrus-driven and creamy white fruit components. There is a good bite of Fuji apple and green pear, with soft underlying and balanced Rainier cherry juice, a touch of minerality going through the middle and into a supple and lingering finish.
Odds and ends: When wine distributor Mitch Cosentino decided to get serious about producing his own wines in 1980, it was still the early days of the boom that would see Napa Valley sprawl with vineyards and attain national acclaim. There was much excitement after the historic Paris tasting of 1976 when an American wine beat all the top French in a blind tasting. This spurred Cosentino to be creative. The Novelist is a blended white wine, made from two classic bordeaux white wine varietals in much the same style and it is not only a well-made wine, but also a superb value. With warmer weather on the way, this is a refreshing aperitif by the glass or with some nice Alaskan king crab legs. It needs to be chilled to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and can drink well through 2012.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
