jamie goode's wine blog: Fume Blanc

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Fume Blanc


The late Robert Mondavi was famous for many things, among them creating a new white wine style. The year was 1966, and his idea was to oak age Sauvignon Blanc and call it Fumé Blanc. It was a hit, and now this name is also used by other producers for similarly styled versions of this variety. Normally, Sauvignon works best unoaked, but the estate Fumé Blanc works really well (I was surprised how much I liked this). The Private Selection is less successful, although it’s still quite an attractive wine.

Robert Mondavi Private Selection Fumé Blanc 2008 California
Interesting nose, with a combination of sweet pear fruit, some herby greenness and a touch of sweet oak. The palate is richly flavoured with a herbal edge to the sweet fruit, bolstered with a hint of vanilla. Attractive and broad, this is a distinctive wine. 85/100 (£9.99 Planet of the Grapes, Drinks Direct)

Robert Mondavi Winery Fumé Blanc 2006 Napa Valley, California
This is really good. It’s very fresh, with minerally, lemony fruit, a touch of grassiness and also some subtle vanilla and spice from barrel fermentation. There are some richer melon notes, but the fruit profile tends to the fresher end of the spectrum, and the oak is both high quality and really well integrated. It works, and the result is a sophisticated, fairly complex dry white wine. 90/100

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1 Comments:

At 12:57 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

love the 2006. good choices. pulled together a lot more info: articles, video reviews etc. off of kosmix.com on fume blanc for anyone interested in learning more: http://www.kosmix.com/search/Fume_Blanc?

enjoy,

eric
KosmixOnWine

 

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