Gann Family Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc 4-Pack
$59.99 $111.00 46% off List Price
2007 Gann Family Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley
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Gann Family Cellars - 2007 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Spring Hill Vineyard
Wednesday, what was to be a fairly quiet night at home with a co-worker and his SWMBO and visiting son from Germany ended up nearly worthy of a smaller woot! gathering, complete with a rather tasty Sauvignon Blanc that made an appearance and was universally enjoyed by all in attendance. Additional evening notes on food and wine consumed are posted in What are ya drinking tonight HERE.
The male population of four generally hid from the 10~14 women and three young children that dominated the evening, but I managed to extract a few notes from the girls that drink more than taste, as well as a few comments from those of us that like to taste, and drink.
This was the first wine of the evening for all. Two ounce pours served initially at 13C and some may have even had a chance to warm to ~19C, very few…
Universally the women liked this, every single one of them. All commented on “fruitiness” of the aroma. Most, given the wine wheel, picked up apple, citrus and tropical fruit. Refreshing, crisp and very dry to dry were common comments as well.
Janina, our visitor from Hamburg Germany and familiar with Rieslings commented “Very bright, slightly oak smell, dry but light, not complex, nutty tone, trace of acid”. She’s a keeper.
Of the four males;
#1, a committed red-only drinker, was succinct; “Tastes very good” and moved on to the reds… Ok, but he liked it, first time I can remember that at all.
#2, a confirmed mixed or on-the-rocks distilled spirits drinker that does enjoy the occasional bottle of grape juice added “pale, bright color, slightly effervescent. Floral, faint oak aroma, clean taste, light, warm smooth finish”. Not sure where that effervescent comment came from, it was singular of the evening.
#3, San Diego native moved to Germany and back visiting noted “Pale gold color, citric smell, acidic, grapefruit, metallic notes, short finish”. He was searching for the grassy herbaceous profile he is used to, and found none here. Later “metallic” was revised to mineral.
#4, Clear pale straw, no trace of green I sometimes see in other or younger SB’s. Initially aromas of citrus (grape) fruits. As this was allowed to warm, the citrus receded to be dominated by tropical fruits. Touches of oak and other exotic like notes showing but no New Zealand grass or herbs.
Entry when chilled was citrus sharp, and carried through as a bit steely or mineral-like. As it warmed it’s character evolved into a much warmer, rounder mouth with a touch of what seemed viscosity I associate with malo fermentations, and what was a rather short finish extended considerably.
When on the colder side, this seems to be a good food wine, or a sipper on a hot day.
As it warms up, the sharpness diminishes as the rounder mouth from either the oak or a bit of malo shows, but is still balanced by acidity.
Seems here food choices may now be a bit more limited, but it really sips fine.
I’ve not had many SB’s aged more than a couple of years, so this was a bit of a treat. It somewhat reminds me of a woot a couple years back of the 2009 Oberon Sauvignon Blanc I didn’t quaff upon arrival. Seems I need to look for some older SB’s now to see if this is just an anomaly or something I could get used to.
I think many, if not most, didn’t allow this to warm enough, but I suppose I could just as easily fess up to pouring it a bit too cold to start with; but then I like to see how they evolve.
At $10 this would be an absolute no-brainer, at $15 still a nice QPR bottle.
[edit] and I see $15 it is
Thanks to a friend, I was able to sample a bottle of 2007 Gann Family Sauvignon Blanc.
Straw color in the glass with thin, slow moving legs. Expressive nose that announced itself immediately. Heady aromas of jasmine, honeysuckle, lemony citrus and grapefruit with an underpinning of baker’s yeast.
On PnP (chilled), palate of lemongrass, Macintosh apple, grapefruit, pineapple and white pepper. Medium bodied with some weight and roundness to the mouthfeel. More like a Sancerre than an Alsatian Sauv Blanc, yet it also incorporates elements of Alsatian style with its lemongrass, bright minerality and crisp acidity.
As the wine started to warm it continued to develop. It became more lemon meringue-like with creamy vanilla notes. This is a complex and delicious wine which is still going strong but may be at or near its peak. It paired wonderfully with spicy Southwestern style egg rolls. I really enjoyed this wine. It has so much going on yet still manages to be incredibly well integrated. 90+
SWIMBO and I had the opportunity to try this wine yesterday. Let me start by saying that we prefer reds, and rarely drink any whites. But with an open mind we opened up (unscrewed) the bottle. The color is a faint yellow, so somewhere between watery white and chardonnay yellow. Even though this bottle had been chilled in the fridge, the initial aromas were still evident of some types of flowers, light and fragrant. The winery infers that the smells are jasmine, lily and gardenia. Could be, but does it really matter. Upon PnP, we noticed a light citrus and crisp pear flavor. The texture leaves a smooth coating, somewhat like some chardonnays. This could be the creaminess that the winery refers to in their write up. For dinner, we had grilled salmon, creamed spinach and aglio olio fettucine. This was a perfect pairing. The crispness, the citrus and the light acidity of the wine matched all of the food profiles. Sometimes wines with citrus flavors can be a little bitter on the finish. This wine was not. I think the most prominent flavor is pear with a citrus backdrop. So, for someone who rarely drinks whites, much less drinks a whole bottle, this one was gone by the time we had finished our dinner. Two thumbs up on this one. Even SWMBO said order up some. This wine will pair with any light appetizers, with seafood or poutlry dishes, as a summer sipper or as an anytime sipper. It was definitely tastier chilled than when it came up to room temperature. I think considering the quality of this wine, the price is reasonable. For those of you that jump on this, I think you’ve made a good choice.
EDIT: chipgreen was able to distinguish more flavor profiles than we did. Nice review! Bottom line, this is a delicious white wine.
Very restricted “ship-to” list. You’ll never build a following if you won’t ship to “open” states.
Hi Woot World - this is Michael Gann. Excited to be promoting our wine through this site. Looking forward to the conversation.
As they say, “it’s complicated.” We are licensed to ship to the top 20 wine consuming states. Although licensed, not able to ship to GA, MN, MO, NH, OH, VA and WI through Woot. FREE the Grapes!
Thanks for your participation!
Since the recent complications in shipping to certain states via woot, some winemakers have extended the woot offer price to those who contact them directly. Is this a possibility for those who live in the states you’ve listed above?
Am I correct in assuming that this wine is 90% aged in stainless steel??? I want to push that button…thanks for prompt reply.
From the winery notes that would be my assumption as well. But I’ll go on to say this isn’t a steely wine, except perhaps when very well chilled. As it warms a bit the warmth of the 10% barrel portion really begins to shine and make this an interesting bottle.
I drink and appreciate both stainless and oaked styles in whites. For me each have their time and place. What impressed me here was the universal appeal to a wide spectrum of consumers, I don’t often see that. Despite a dry wine, the fruit was enough for the girls to enjoy this, and the blending kept it interesting for the rest of us. Not sure if this is due entirely to the 90/10 blending of fermentation lots or the aging. And was there any malo?
I’d be interested on winery comments on how age has affected it’s profile, and how they see it evolving in the future as well.
2007 Gann Family Cellars RRV Sauv Blanc Spring Hill Vineyard
Color is nearly clear with only a slight hue of hay. Starting temp was 60F. Nose has apricot, trop fruit, lychee and a touch of grass. Light bodied with a light to medium mouthfeel at first. Some crispness, but not sharp. Picking up apricot, but there isn’t really much fruit here. As it warms, the mouthfeel is getting a bit heavier and I am starting to pick up a strange viscosity I typically associated with too much lactic acid, similar to many Sancerre’s. As it warms the power of the nose picks up adding a citrus note. Some salinity on the mid palate and finish. When paired with dinner it didn’t clash, but also didn’t really enhance the meal.
Overall this wine was pleasant but lacked the fruit or complexity for anything more than a patio starter for us. In my notes I had $10-12 circled. After looking on the website they have a sale going at $14/bottle when you buy a case (woot price is still better once you factor in their nearly $38 to ship just inside california). I have been jamming on lots a really good whites just under $20 lately, so this is a pass for me.
Yes, 90% Stainless Steel and 10% Oak Barrel. Neutral Oak, NOT trying to impart a bunch of oak flavor, just the additional texture we get from that size vessel.
No ML.
OK… but today’s promotion only goes out to 11 of those “20 wine consuming states”. So “no go” for me… although I did catch yesterday’s offer. It makes no sense to me. #bummed
You can read, but not comprehend, which is why it does not make sense. You repeated exactly what the rep said, they can ship to a number of a states, but they specifically noted that current woot restrictions are not allowing them to ship this wine to several of those states through woot. This has been going on for over a month now.
As for being able to participate in yesterday’s woot…that was not wine…
I just ordered a case directly from Gann and got free shipping (“Case Closeout Sale”), just had to pay sales tax so it worked out to $15/bottle out the door. As much as I enjoyed this wine, I don’t need an entire case so if North316 or anyone in NE Ohio wants 2-3 bottles, send me a PM.
Yes, Gann Family Cellars would be happy to extend the Wine Woot offer to those states where we can ship, just not via Woot. Shoot me a private message and I’ll reply with more information.
Thanks for joining us today Michael, and offering this example of an aged (and age-worthy) Sauv Blanc!
I got the date wrong. I’m a regular buyer here… including this week. Just got the ship notice FWIW. Not a Woot problem that I see, please explain.