Tuesday 25 September 2018

Sauvignon Blanc 2017 12%, Bodegas Manuel Aragón

Appearance
Mid to pale golden straw with golden highlights and the odd tiny bubble on the glass.
Nose
All the hallmarks of Sauvignon Blanc - but grown in a warmer place - with mostly green aromas: verdant, leafy, gooseberries, kiwi and perhaps a hint of melon, lime peel, apple, a trace of under-ripe apricot and minerals, but a little fuller than one might expect from, say Sancerre. It is very fresh with some tanginess, and at barely a year old should develop more complexity in the next year or so.
Palate
Dry with a lively acidity and a just little more body than one is used to, it has the slightly chalky texture one would associate with albariza. There is a very slight feel of bubbles in the wine, so maybe it was bottled shortly after fermentation, as allowing the malo-lactic would have reduced the acidity. On the one hand it is very tasty with those green very slightly under-ripe notes, and on the other there is a slight malic/tartaric rawness which will hopefully calm down a bit with more time in bottle.
Comments
Manuel Aragón was the first bodega to plant Sauvignon Blanc in Cádiz, and it is grown in albariza soil near Chiclana under an Andalusian sun. This cool climate grape seems to have acclimatised reasonably well, being used to calcareous soils in the Loire, but judging by the tartaric acidity it was picked quite early, and I feel that, at the expense of just a little of that acidity - something New Zealand SB fans have come to expect, and probably what they were aiming at - it could have been picked just a bit later to capture more fruit, and give it a rounder southern style. I can't decipher the lot number so don't know when it was bottled, but my guess is very early. While what it will do in bottle remains to be seen, it should round off and be a very decent wine. Diam cork too.
Price
6 euros, Licores Corredera


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