2011 San Pedro "1865" single vineyard sauvignon blanc

Oh my goodness -- dear things -- what, what an excellent wine. The aroma heavenly, like chives and freshness and grass and a spring day and something meaty as well. The taste, all of the above plus a sturdy body too. Perhaps somewhere in here is the property or flavor that wine labels, and wine writers, mysteriously call "minerality."

Now this is a Chilean sauvignon blanc (we are stealing a march on this week's Wines of Chile live blogger tasting), so it will not actually hurl limes and grapefruits at you, as New Zealand examples of the grape do. It will also not merely splash buckets of lukewarm water at you, as California sauvignon blancs tend to do. Instead it will be your firm (minerally?) friend, standing as it were by an open window snipping chives, a cigarette dangling surprisingly from its mouth as it helps you prepare your braised and garlic-sprinkled pork chops, buttered fingerling potatoes (gracious, they're purple all through), and buttered broccoli. If you wish to invite it afterward to a little midnight snack of crackers, fresh mozzarella, and pesto, it will not object.