Outer Limits Sauvignon Blanc from Chile

One of the benefits of traveling is trying the local wines from new and interesting places. When we can't get away, we can always pick up a bottle and pretend we have. We might miss out on the local food or culture, that way, but at least we get to enjoy the wine.

We've enjoyed a few bottles of Sauvignon Blanc recently. So when a bottle from Outer Limits in Chile arrived in the mail, we expected crisp flavors with strong undertones of grass and herbs. In this case, it seemed like Chile's warm climate had given the wine an additional edge--some sweet and tropical fruit flavors to add to the natural herbal quality of the grape. In fact, hints of grapefruit pleasantly surprised us at every sip.

We paired it with baked lemon chicken on a bed of spinach and mango salad, with a side of vegetable biscuits. The crisp herbal flavors complemented the chicken, as thisnneutral white meat can always use some additional flavors. The wine was ideal with salad, as the sweet tropical flavors that were so unique to this style played with the tropical flavors of the mango, a needed counterpoint to the natural bitterness of the spinach. Unfortunately, the wine was a bit too big and bold to work well with the veggie biscuits, but not every course can be a winner.

We thought we knew Sauvignon Blanc. But thinking back, we've had others from Chile with a similar flavor profile. It just goes to show that there is something to the whole "terrior" business, as the geography and climate have a big part to play in the flavors of a grape.