Petit Manseng – An Obscure Wine Worth Finding

2016 Callaghan Vineyards Greg’s – White Wine

Winery: Sonoita, AZ / Fruit: Willcox AVA, AZ

Wine Tasting Note:

Score: 92/100

My first impression: WOW! Second time tasting Petit Manseng and this knocked me off my feet. This Arizona origin wine was so much better than the first bottle I tasted from Virginia. Kent Callaghan did a great job of producing a seriously good wine from a virtually unknown grape. Rich, floral nose of white flowers, honeysuckle and citrus. The palate was honey, creme brulee, red apple and lemon curd. The wine had crazy high acidity and high alcohol. This could have stood up to being over-oaked. So glad that was not the case. The mouth-feel was rich and smooth and the finish was very long with a touch of clove at the end. This varietal presents like a cross between Chardonnay and Viognier. As I understand it, this grape is used in making a well-known sweet late-harvest wine from the Jurancon in the Southwest region of France. This wine was very fruity, but finishes dry. It is easy to see the potential for shifting the emphasis to a sweet wine. The Petit Manseng vines love the heat and are known for producing high acid fruit, even in very warm and sunny climates. The vines have naturally small berries with very thick skins and tend to ripen with very long hang times – without mold, or mildew. It is almost as if this variety was built with Arizona in mind. It is hard to believe the primary parent variety is Traminer. I like this stuff. If you are a fan of high acid white wines, this will be right up your alley. Enjoy!