The Mayhem 2020 Sauvignon Blanc was the best white wine I reviewed last year. Not the best Canadian but the best in the world. Yet all the trumpets are blaring in New Zealand about their Sauvignon Blanc and if they aren’t careful about over production those trumpets could soon be playing a funeral dirge. And to get off the topic Mayhem’s Gewurztraminer marches with the best Alsatians.
The Mayhem 2021 Sauvignon Blanc from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia has a nose as big as Jimmy Durante’s and its personality is equally full of intensity. Super dense and solid with pear, guava, clementine, mango and pineapple. A huge mouthfeel with notes of sweet grapefruit, pear tartine, pineapple juice and Australian Impossible Pie. The acids are so well tucked into the body of the wine they compliment it rather than deface it. The wine is dry but pleasantly so. The finish is short with a tiny good-bye kiss of ginger. Serve chilled on a stinking hot day as thirst quencher but my take is that it is built for food. Simply prepared lake fish such as walleye, perch, pike or bass. As asparagus season has arrived saving us from the wooden and pale Mexican and Peruvian asparagus so try local with Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Leeks and Capers (check New York Times for recipe).
There is something unique about the Mayhem Sauvignon Blanc. It has a bit more grip on its palate than most Sauvignon Blancs. Most Sauvies are steel fermented but this Mayhem has been fermented in 100% French oak 13% of which was new.
(Mayhem 2021 Small Lot Sauvignon Blanc, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, BC VQA, Mayhem Wines, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, $27, 750 mL, 13.3%, RKS Wine Rating 94/100).
As only 113 cases were made best to check with winery how to purchase at Mayhemwines.com
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