Gotta love a “White Wine”. And I mean a wine that simply says “White Wine”. Regular readers know I don’t read labels before reviewing–and you shouldn’t either–but this thing has NOTHING on the label indicating blend. Plus, it’s from an AVA not *pronounced* for certain varieties–AND you never know WHAT these guys are gonna be up to–so the guessing-game is ON.
Clean and beautiful in the glass–teensy-weensy bit of cloud at the base of the punt: far less than some of the whites I’ve had from this classically low-intervention winery. Slight grassiness, but bright and stunning in the nose: a beautiful sweetness erupting, but NOT the kind of buttery sweetness or cloying Rhone-varietal thickness often seen. No, this is that clear, un-interrupted high-note tropical sweetness akin to Gewurztraminer–all while clearly bone-dry. A bit of dank soil sullies and evokes more wonder as to the blend.
Then you taste it, and a more gulp-able yellow liquid escapes memory. I originally tasted it barely below cellar temp and started to form some thoughts, but now I have accidentally over-chilled it–slightly below 50°–and the ache it produces on the teeth go hand-in-hand with the dulling of the fruit and the elimination of pure nuance. With cupped hands, it quickly hits 60, and the tropical magic starts all over again. I have a hard time believing there’s Gewurtz in this, but definitely Muscat. The acidity eats at the body–the lychee like honey droplets on the palate–the straight-forward dedication to cleanliness nearly god-like in its thin pronunciation of Heaven on the tongue. The back corners of the mouth curl at the graceful bitterness, while robust chamomile and stemmy wonder prod and sooth careful melon and citrus. The finish crescendos my Muscat theory: the nectar of lavish sweet un-sweetness proudly quashing the slight tannin. Just a stupidly good wine, and probably wine 20 or 30 from this producer I can NOT find a trace of fault with. You NEED to get to know this label.
2020 DEUX PUNX ‘California White Wine’ Chard/Roussanne/Marsanne/Muscat Contra Costa Co. 10.8
Stephen McConnell 