2007 Sancerre Les Boucaudes Domaine Claude Riffault
Loire, France
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Here is Sancerre from the home of Sauvignon Blanc, the locale that helped define what the variety was capable of and the heights it could reach. Here at the eastern end of the Loire river, on these rocky, chalky-clay hills Sauvignon Blanc achieves a racy elegance that is rarely captured elsewhere. In fact, the soil profile of chalk on top of Kimmeridgean marl is identical to that found in Chablis about 50 miles to the northeast. Not surprisingly, there is a sleek and elegant expression to this Sancerre along with green notes: not the green of unripeness but the green of limes, tarragon, verbena, the green of Spring’s first leafy turn from the brown of winter. Supple, medium-bodied, the wine displays its brisk and fresh bouquet mingling mineral, citrus and green accents. Claude Riffault is now the fifth-generation at the estate tending vines in 33 separate plots scattered over four villages. The Les Boucaudes cuvée is made from the fruit of 30- to 40-year-old vines and is entirely fermented and aged in stainless steel. Enjoy with fresh crustaceans and mollusks from shrimp to raw oysters.

2007 Grgich Hills Estate Fumé Blanc
Napa Valley
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From the cooler areas of Napa Valley’s Carneros and American Canyon, the 2007 Grgich Hills Estate Fumé Blanc expresses what richer, more loamy soils and a warmer climate than Sancerre’s as well as six months of barrel aging is able to do in showing another aspect of Sauvignon Blanc’s character and potential. As with the 2007 Sancerre Riffault, this Napa Valley wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc. But fermentation, using indigenous yeast, is in small, seasoned, French oak barrels (80%) and larger oak foudres which together with the impact of a warmer growing season make for a wine that is fuller bodied, more supple, almost creamy in texture. In addition, the wine’s aromas and flavors have a broader, more ample character suggesting lanolin, tarragon, and creamy Meyer lemon. Because of its broader, fuller texture, the Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc can be paired with richer dishes such as any seafood or poultry with a cream sauce or a seafood risotto. Note that with the 2007 vintage, Grgich Hills Estate is now certified by the world’s most famous biodynamic organization, Demeter, as biodynamically grown.