Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc '06

Country: USA
Region: California
Thoughts: In what may be a Wine Trial first, today's wine was proud to announce its grapes hailed from two different areas. It's tough to tell on the pic, but the label rather boldly states, "52 percent Lake County, 48 percent Mendocino County." Sadly, I'm not as well versed on my central Cali terroir, particularly as it relates to sauvignon blanc. But I do know this was a pretty interesting version: In the past, we've gone over all of those standard sauvignon blanc aromas - earthy, cat piss, on down the line. This was fruitier, though it was easy to pick out elements of its heritage. Taste-wise, I wasn't sold on the first sip - or on many of the follow-ups, either. The taste had elements of lemon, smokiness and grassiness, all while being dry. It was kind of an unusual combination - at least as far as I could tell - and it didn't strike me as anything great at first. But the more I kept at it, the more enjoyable it became. My original notes indicate that, perhaps, I was hasty in assigning it a B-. With that wrong righted, the wine gets adjusted upward.
Do-over? So long as I'll be in it for the long haul, when the taste smooths out.
Final Grade: B