Tooth & Nail Sauvignon Blanc 2021
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Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
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A deliciously expressive wine, the 2021 Sauvignon Blanc explodes from the glass with aromas of pink grapefruit, white peach, and kafir lime. On the palate, layer upon layer of citrus, white gummy, peach, and pineapple are stacked against refreshing acidity, all supported by ample weight from extended lees contact.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2021 Tooth + Nail Sauvignon Blanc pinpoints the grape variety with well-defined varietal characters. TASTING NOTES: This on-point wine offers aromas and flavors of savory spices, mineral notes, and a refreshing citrus bite. Pair it with seared sea scallops and a sprinkle of dried red chili flakes. (Tasted: August 23, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Dried apple peels and flesh meet with damp but drying cement on the nose of this bottling. There’s a vibrant texture to the palate, where grass, lime peel, lemongrass and rainy sidewalk flavors align.
Tooth & Nail Wine Company was founded by Rob Murray, an upstart grower who bootstrapped his winery from the trenches of the vineyard. The challenges imposed by nature were numerous, but he was determined to gain the upper hand. To this day, Tooth & Nail remains rooted in this core aspiration.
The Tooth & Nail winery and vineyard resides in the Willow Creek District AVA of Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast. Willow Creek is a small district in the path of cool marine air that flows through the Templeton Gap, a notch in the coastal mountains. The soils at the Tooth & Nail vineyard are composed of mixed limestone and clay. Tooth & Nail also sources grapes from other Paso Robles vineyards that are under their viticultural control—enabling us to grow the fruit to their exacting specifications and to build natural complexity into their wines.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.