Weather warms up, wine cools down

Now is the time to tune up the taste buds for the pleasures of spring, and as the weather warms up, the wine cools down. It`s time for the ripe peachiness of Riesling, the nose-filling exotica of Gewurztraminer, and the clean, palate-enlivening crispness of sauvignon blanc. Not to mention the joys of Torrontes, Tokay, and Viognier. There is a whole blossoming world of white-wine flavors out there. Below is a range of white-wine suggestions to get your spring exploration started. All of the wines, unless noted, are obligingly priced between $7 and $12. Best of the affordable whites recently reviewed: CHARDONNAY (Rated Very Good) Estancia Pinnacles 1998. (Chile) Miguel Torres 1997. (Spain) Vega Sindoa 1998 Chardonnay, Cuvee Allier. (Australia) Carramar 1998 Chardonnay. (Good/Very Good) Hess Select 1998; Cartlidge and Browne 1997; Fetzer 1997 "Bonterra." (Spain) Torres 1997 Gran Vina Sol. (South Africa) Fleur du Cap 1998. (Australia) Penfolds 1998 Koonunga Hill. (France) Georges Duboeuf 1998. SAUVIGNON/FUME BLANC: (Very Good/Excellent) Morgan 1998; Chateau St. Jean 1998 Fume Blanc. (Very Good) Preston 1998; Dry Creek Vineyards 1998 Fume Blanc; Buena Vista 1998. (Good/Very Good) Beringer 1998. (Good) Flora Springs 1998; Hogue 1998 Fume Blanc; Rodney Strong 1998 "Charlotte`s Home"; Chateau Souverain 1998. OTHER: (Very Good) (Spain) Martin Codax 1998 "Burgans" Albarino; Basa 1998 Reuda (Cia. de Vinos de Telmo Rodriguez). Wines reviewed this week: No wine lover could fail to be impressed with the quality of wines coming from Chile these days, which are among the world`s best values. But one varietal that is often overlooked in the praise for the cabernets and chardonnays is Chile`s sauvignon blanc. Witness the Concha Y Toro 1999 Sauvignon Blanc, Casillero del Diablo, a lovely wine in a lean, penetrating European style. It has an aroma of pineapple and herb with a fresh touch of melon. (Very Good) If you come across it, grab the Hedges 1998 Fume-Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, a gorgeous Washington wine for about nine bucks. It wafts a high note of vanilla and allspice, and comes across with a fine round mouthful that combines a cut of fresh acidity and an overlay of creaminess. It`s not perfectly integrated, but the effect is a layering of flavors and textures. (Very Good) Another wine blended from the unusual combination of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc (plus semillon, in this case) is the Napa Ridge 1998 Triad, North Coast. The wine really lays on the oakiness, which I generally don`t go for, but it works here in this super-smooth, plump, mildly off-dry wine with its notes of fired oak and cedar mingling with peach and exotic melon. (Good/Very Good) The Michel Lynch 1998 Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux, is in a more classical style, with a smooth varietal leanness and flavors of grapefruit and melon. It`s stylish in a quiet way that grows on you. (Good/Very Good) Fleur du Cap`s 1998 Sauvignon, from South Africa`s Coastal Region, puts in the varietal bite you often taste in classic French sauvignon blancs from the Loire. It`s an agreeable wine with a fine, round finish. (Good) The bargain buy in sauvignon blanc is Rivefort de France`s 1998 Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays D`Oc, a fine-drinking $6 wine with a true varietal character and some creaminess to its light-bodied texture. (Good) I`m generally no lover of California Gewurztraminer, which is all too often sweet, gloppy and fat. But check out the Thomas Fogarty 1997 Gewurztraminer, Monterey, for a counterbalance - it`s a lovely, dry wine with a taut, vibrant feel and its exotica held in delicious check. The flavors of apricot, rose petal and Asian spices linger and linger. (Very Good) It`s hard to call a wine sophisticated when it`s as straightforward as the Chapoutier 1998 "Belleruche" Cotes-du-Rhone, but this is a wine that perfectly delivers on its relatively simple mission. It`s dry, clean and round, with a mild resinated, menthol-like note, and it grows on you. A subtle, but substantial, mouthful of white wine blended from such less familiar grapes as white grenache, marsanne and bourboulenc. (Good/Very Good) One of the more interesting, love-it-or-hate-it wines out there (for about $12-$13) is the Mastro 1998, from southern Italy`s masters of the unobvious, Mastroberardino. It`s golden colored, open and caressingly soft, a wine that has been exposed to oxygen during its making as a style statement. It is dry, without a hint of fruitiness and, instead, a kind of earth-and-straw character that comes across with a subtle intensity. It`s a wine lover`s wine - your move. (Good) At the other end of the style spectrum is the Domaine Miquel 1998 Viognier, Vin de Pays D`Oc from France - a very eager-to-please wine. It`s a viscous wine that blasts an aroma of sweet vanilla, nutmeg and oak, and is loaded with flavors of pear and exotic melon and carries a sweetish impression. Many lovers of rich American chardonnay will go for it. (Good) Among the bargains around these days, at $7 or less, look for the licorice-y, muscaty, spicy Santa Julia 199 Torrontes, Mendoza, from Argentina - an exotic easy drinker - or the far more conventional 1998 Dry Riesling and 1998 Pinot Blanc from Germany`s venerable Deinhard. The Dry Riesling is light, bright and clean, with a tart peach flavor, while the Pinot Blanc has a lovely, plump, simple elegance. All three wines are rated Good.

Richard Nalley`s wine articles appear in Men`s Journal, Food & Wine and Departures. He is the winner of the 1997 James Beard Foundation Award for Magazine Wine Writing. Please send your wine questions to Wine Talk, c/o Copley News Service, P.O. Box 120190, San Diego, CA 92112-0190. Questions regarding individual bottles or collection appraisals cannot be answered.Visit Copley News Service at www.copleynews.com.(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Richard Nalley