September 14, 2018

CHATEAU STE MICHELLE “Midsummer’s White Wine” 2017

(Columbia Valley, Washington) $24

I would have called this Midsummer’s Night White, because it’s exactly what’s delicious on summer nights now. Aromatic and juicy.

88 points KM

Sauternes is among the few regions in the world devoted to extraordinary sweet wines. Which of the following is not one of the five communes that can produce Sauternes wines?

A. Barsac

B. Bommes

C. Loupiac

D. Fargues

The communes of Sauternes, Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, and Preignac in the southern Graves region of Bordeaux all produce sweet wines and all are permitted to use the overall name Sauternes for their wines. (Barsac, a slight exception, can be sold as either Barsac or Sauternes). Loupiac, an appellation also dedicated to sweet wine, is not a part of the Sauternes “group,” although its wines are made in the same manner from botrytised grapes. Loupiac is located between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers in the Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux. Loupiac is sometimes thought of as “poor man’s Sauternes.”

“In nothing have the habits of the palate more decisive influence than in our relish of wines.”

—Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United State

(whose birthday is today)

CHATEAU STE MICHELLE “Midsummer’s White Wine” 2017

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