Top Ten White Wines from the 2019 Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival

We’ve already written about the wonderfully successful Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, which took place in Newport, RI this past September.  In previous articles you can read an overview of the event (available here), as well as the Top Red Wines (available here).  We would be remiss if we didn’t pay proper respect to the white wines from the weekend as well, as there were many excellent ones.  Here we’ll list our ten favorites.  The wines make this list for various reasons.  It could be due to extreme quality, extreme value, or a combination of both.  This list is also, of course, comprised only of wines we tried during the event.  We did not, unfortunately, have the chance to try everything.  No doubt we missed several other excellent wines, some of which may have been your favorites.  Next year we’ll try harder!

So here are the Top Ten White Wines from this year’s event.  Any of them should make you, and your guests, very happy.

1. 2011 Trimbach Gewurtztraminer – just a strikingly beautiful nose full of floral bouquets and ripe, but not over ripe, fruit.  This Alsatian wine is off dry, elegant and impeccably made.  Only 200 six packs went on sale.  Tough to find now, but it is spectacular.  $25

2. 2016 Gerard Bertrand Thomas Jefferson Cremant de Limoux Brut – the only sparkler on the list, and a wine that just hits every button.  It is clean, with some body, great fruit, a little toast, a crisp and long finish.  I love this wine.  $20 and a great value there.

3. 2017 Twomey Sauvignon Blanc – a very smooth Sauv Blanc, with pear and apple aromas and flavors.  This is bright, but elegant at the same time with a pleasing, long finish.  Well done.  $25

4. 2017 Chappellet Dry Chenin Blanc – this is really clean and crisp.  Pear was the predominant fruit.  Don’t think it is one note though, as the wine is quite complex.  It is medium bodied on the palate, with good length.  Superbly made wine.  $35

5. 2017 Banfi La Pettegola Vermentino – light golden color, rich fruit on the nose and beautiful structure highlight a substantial white wine.  It is rich and elegant.  At $16 it is a great value wine as well. 

6. 2013 Bagueri Ribolla Gialla –  this Slovenian white, from an indigenous grape varietal,  has a beautiful color: a richly hued, light golden yellow.  There is ripe fruit.  It is structured, with medium+ body, and has a very long finish.  This is a serious white wine.  $30

7. 2017 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay –  a rich Chardonnay, with some oak but not too much.  The fruit comes through cleanly and takes center stage.  As with all Sequoia Grove wines, this is very well made.  $25

8. 2018 Godelia – this is 90% Godello and 10% Donna Blanco, from Bierzo in northwest Spain.  The nose is apricot and tropical fruit.  This has body, crispness, balancing acid and a long finish.  Quite excellent overall.  You might have to wait for this vintage to be released.  $20

9. 2018 Domaine de Viviers Chablis – this is a pretty classic Chablis, with a crisp profile and striking minerality.  Think about some oysters on the halfshell, and this wine would be perfect in the glass standing next to them.  $20

10. 2017 Scarpetta Friulano – the first wine we tried at the Saturday Grand Tasting, and one of the best.  It would be higher, but it is a bit pricey.  There is no arguing with the quality.  Clean, crisp, bright fruit and great balance.  $45

Here are pictures of the other Top Ten Whites:

As always, this was a weekend full of wonderful wine and food, and so many great wines deserved mention beyond the list above.  Here are a few more that certainly deserve an honorable mention:

2017 Obsidian Ridge Estate Chardonnay – $27

2018 Montes Classic Series Sauvignon Blanc – $12

2018 Gerard Bertran Gris Blanc – $15

2016 Trimbach Pinot Banc – $15

2016 Trimbach Riesling – $20

2018 Dry Creek Vineyards Chenin Blanc – $15

2017 St. Francis Chardonnay – $13

2018 Raats Chenin Blanc – $15

Everything listed here is really quite excellent.  There is much to enjoy!  That’s one of the best things about the Newport Mansions event, it gives you a chance to try so much variety over the course of multiple days.  It was a fabulous weekend.

A votre santé!

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