Barnard & Griffin Fume Blanc '06

Country: USA

Region: Washington

Thoughts: I've had good experiences in the past with fume blanc; unfortunately, this wasn't one of them. The wine itself was fine; I have no qualms with it by itself. But my issue was that it is what it is, and it scored exceptionally low on the adventure scale. The nose hinted of the dryness; there was almost a sheen to it, if that's possible to deduce from merely smelling the thing. The taste was solid too, but very one-dimensional. The dryness wasn't as severe as the nose would have indicated. And to top it off, there was no finish to speak of. That may have been my biggest bone of contention. I mean, when you try a wine, there should be a payoff; the nose should get a workout, the mind should get a workout - from detecting all the flavors that dance around the tongue - and the pleasure center in the brain should get a workout too, from the finish and taking in the body of work. This, though a perfectly acceptable wine on most fronts, failed in most of those endeavors. Hence the low grade.

Do-over? Doubtful

Final Grade: C+