Jean-Claude Mas Arrogant Frog Sauvignon Blanc 2013: Lemon-gold color; grapefruit, whiff of smoke on the nose; sharply clean on the palate with zippy citrus, tartness, niblet of green apple; tongue-slicing acidity is most-outstanding characteristic, which should make it superb pair with shellfish, grilled seafood, vegetable dishes. This is French Languedoc’s answer to New Zealand; it has less grass and more tart freshness, but both are savagely good food wines. The brand name has multiple levels of meaning. The French (“Frogs” in the argot of some levels of English society—lads Frenchmen call “Limeys”) are sometimes known for arrogance, so this may smugly play on that stereotype. Fourth-generation Jean-Claud Mas claims this is “direct response to an arrogant assumption that the Languedoc region can’t produce world class wines.” Languedoc (and the greater region of Languedoc-Roussillon) is located in southern France near northeast Spain, touching the Mediterranean; Toulouse is its major city. The region once had deserved reputation for over-production of mediocre jug wine, much like the Central Valley of California. Today, much like those areas in California, emphasis has shifted from massive crop yields to affordable quality. Mas is a leader in the change; he has the largest privately-owned winery in France outside of Champagne; this effort is dead-on, value-priced, winner of a summer sipper. $11
