Palate
Bringing together these two French white varietals allows the broad texture of Semillon to pair seamlessly with the bright acidity and citrus notes of Sauvignon Blanc. White melon and peach from the Lake County Semillon are accented perfectly with the grapefruit and lemongrass accents of Mendocino Sauvignon Blanc.
Growing Conditions
Grand Reserve is a winemaker ’s blend of our mountain, ridge, hillside and benchland grapes grown along California ’s cool coastal appellations. We hand select grapes from our best estate vineyards and then monitor, taste and hand-hold each individual lot throughout the winemaking process. Each lot is kept separate, barrel-aged and crafted—boutique winery style. Our winemakers have an unmatched palette of flavors, toast levels and terroir nuances from which they masterfully blend these exemplary rich, deep and complex wines.
Harvest
The 2016 vintage was an unusually easy vintage, yet still a vintage very high in quality; similar to the 2014 and 2015. The great weather, which was mostly frost-free early on, lead to the development of excellent flavors and structure. Though it was an earlier vintage, the growing season was of normal length due to the early bud break.
Winemaking
The Grand Reserve Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc tend to be from the same vineyard blocks year-to-year, ensuring greater consistency and enhanced complexity with each vintage. All our estate vineyards are certified sustainable by the CCSW (Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing) and SIP (Sustainability in Practice) programs. Lake County's hills and benchlands provide the white melon and peach avors while the Mendocino County fruit adds just the right amount of lemon and vanilla notes.
