Wine:
Beautifully balanced, our 2012 Sauvignon Blanc opens with lofty tropical fruit aromas, combining passion fruit, guava and pineapple. A small amount of Muscat leaves a lovely floral imprint on the nose. The palate is lush and round, escorting bright varietal flavors with a supple texture. Citrus picks up on the palate, punctuating the finish with vibrant lime zest and a mouthwatering acidity that begs another sip. “Varietally expressive, this wine has a refreshing zing that makes it perfect for pairing with food,” comments Winemaker David Nakaji. “Try a seafood cioppino, grilled swordfish or light, summer pasta.”
Vineyard:
Our Sauvignon Blanc comes from the De La Montana Vineyard in Lake County. Located just north of Napa, this region sits at a moderately high altitude, where the climate is more mountainous. During the growing season, warm daytime temperatures quickly drop in the evenings, often changing as mush as 30ºF in one day. This creates the perfect conditions for the early ripening Sauvignon Blanc, lengthening the growing season and preserving the acids for brighter, tighter, passion fruit profile.
Winemaking:
““Surprisingly, 2012 was a little challenging for our Sauvignon Blanc,” observes Nakaji. “The fruit had thicker skins and we had to work a little more to get the richness out of the grapes.” To do this, we harvested the fruit at night, when temperatures were low. The grapes were then cold-soaked for three days before being placed into stainless steel for a cool fermentation. Fermentation lasted 25 days, slowly extracting the intricate flavors and aromas. To build up the midpalate, we stirred the lees and added a splash of Muscat.
Vintage:
Following a relatively dry winter, the 2012 growing season got off to a slightly early start. Although bud break occurred a few weeks prior to normal, the fruit set (number and size of the clusters) was quite good. A mild, warm summer maintained ideal ripening conditions right up to harvest. Overall, the vintage produced good-sized yields with excellent quality across varieties.
Varietal Composition:
97.5% Sauvignon Blanc
2.5% Muscat Canelli
Barrel Aging: Stainless Steel
Alcohol: 13.8%
Acidity: 6.2 g/L
pH: 3.4