Bird Sauvignon Blanc 2007

warmer weather means it is time to break out more white wines, and i go to sauv blancs quite often. this one from aorearoa, new zealand, was introduced to me at a recent tasting at my local wine merchant. the nose was grassy and tropical, with kiwi fruit aromas. the palate was not your typical grapefruit bomb that many new zealand sauv blancs seem to gravitate toward. this one had some of the citrus flavor, but there was some nice floral and passion fruit notes as well. a little zing in the finish of spice. good patio pounder that would work well with asian or seafood dishes. sells for about $13.

Kono Barú 2006 Valle Central Unwooded Chardonnay

here is a chilean chardonnay i tried recently. they refer to it as unwooded, which the general public calls unoaked. it sells for about $7 a bottle, which is a nice price. the nose is tropical fruit, especially pineapple and maybe a little grapefruit. i also got a sweaty note that was a bit surprising. the palate was more tropical, dominated by passion fruit. i picked up some asparagus flavors in the mid palate and a slight apple note in the finish. there were also mineral notes in the medium finish. slightly crisp, very nice white for the price. a definite revisit for this summer. and remember when looking for this wine the label is upside-down.
a sad note on this wine. it is no longer being produced by the don and sons branch of sebatiani. not sure why, but found this out recently. they are apparently going to do an unoaked chard under the pepperwood label from chilean grapes to replace this.