2018 Napa Valley Essence, Sauvignon Blanc
Retail: $ 65.00
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The Wine
Using naturally-occurring yeasts found on the grapes, we fermented the juice in 1,500-gallon French oak casks (foudres) that were temperature-controlled for a cool fermentation to retain all of the grapes’ delicate aromas. We selected the best lots of the vintage, and then aged the wine nine months in the same large oak casks.
The wine opens with notes of fresh lime, star fruit, stinging nettle, capsicum, and black pepper on the nose. On the palate, lime and recurring fresh tropical aromatics are present. Wet stone minerality complements the complex mid-palate, and mouth-watering acidity carries the wine into a long finish.
Vintage
The 2018 vintage was a bountiful vintage marked by cool, consistent temperatures and a timely rainfall for bud break in March and April. Harvset began on September tenth, and the grapes were of the highest quality with lower alochol and high acidity.
Vineyard
Only the best blocks that express the true nature – the essence – of our Sauvignon Blanc are used for this limited production wine. The grapes come primarily from our chilly American Canyon vineyard, supplemented by grapes from our Carneros vineyard, where the cool climate and thin soils limit vigor, producing fewer grapes but more intense flavor. We hand-harvested the grapes at night into small bins, so they arrived at the winery cool and intact, preserving their wonderful flavors and bright acidity.
Winemaker's Notes
Alcohol
14.1%
Fermentation
indigenous yeast
Harvest date
Sept. 10-27, 2018
Sugar
23.5 Brix average
Bottling date
July 11, 2019
Release Date
March 2020
Total acid
7.9 g/L
pH
3.14
Blend
95% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Orange Muscat
