Palate
The Sauvignon blanc brings a clean fresh citrusy acidity and some tropical character. The Semillon contributes viscosity and waxiness that adds gravity and weight. The acidity and fruit expression is balanced by a rich lees character and a faint backdrop of creamy oak. That interplay is the magic of this time-honored blend. Flavors include grapefruit, fresh cut pineapple, flint, oat straw, dried fig and beeswax.
Growing Conditions
The Sauvignon blanc and Semillon come from Ryan's Vineyard, which sits on a streak of alluvial gravel in the center of the valley floor, the cool and foggy south part of Napa Valley. It is right in the path of the daily wind current that pulls up through the valley from the San Francisco Bay towards Calistoga. Native grasses are planted under the vines to compete for moisture and nutrients and encourage the roots to forage down deep in the gravelly soil.
Winemaking
The fruit was very lightly whole-cluster-pressed. Both varieties were blended immediately upon dryness, racked and returned onto the lees for aging until bottling. We used 20% new Boutes barrels, with no stirring. To preserve all of the acidity the wine was prevented from going through malo-lactic fermentation.
Aging
10 months barrel aging.
