($31): When it comes to winemaking, Grgich Hills Estate can do no wrong.  Of course it excels with Chardonnay.  Miljenko “Mike” Grgich made the Chardonnay when he was at Chateau Montelena that instantly put California wine on the map when judges — French no less — placed it first, besting prestigious white Burgundies in a blind tasting, the so-called Judgment of Paris, forty years ago.  But Grgich Hills Estate excels with reds and with this wine made from Sauvignon Blanc.  Though labeled to evoke memories of the Loire’s Pouilly-Fumé, the 2014 Grgich Hills Estate Dry Fumé Blanc is more reminiscent of white dry Bordeaux with a seamless and refined mixture of creaminess and minerality.  It has suppleness without being soft and a hint of bitterness in the finish, the hallmark of a wine meant for food, as opposed to a sweet fruit bomb.  Chicken in a mushroom cream sauce pops to mind.
92 Michael Apstein Aug 16, 2016