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Tasting Notes
Tasting Note
This third vintage of Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is lovely and bright, offering the variety’s classic citrus fruit characteristics with notes of Meyer lemon and white blossoms. A lean backbone of racy acidity supported by a steely minerality adds to the wine’s crispness and complexity. On the palate, stone fruit notes of white peach, young plum, grapefruit and zesty lime peel are interwoven with hints of white jasmine and elderflower, as well as spicier ginger and white pepper notes, adding layers and depth to the round, soft texture, leading to a lengthy mouthwatering finish. Elegant and savory, this Sauvignon Blanc is a beautiful expression of Napa Valley fruit, and the perfect thirst-quencher when dining al fresco, or enjoying on its own.
Technical Information
| Varietal | Sauvignon Blanc |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Appellation | Napa Valley |
| Blend | 100% Sauvignon Blanc |
| Oak Treatment | 17% new and 53% neutral French Oak barrels for 6 months, 30% stainless steel |
| Alcohol % | 14.1% |
| Case Production | 8,600 |
Scores & Accolades
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94
WineReviewOnline.com
“Sauvignon Blanc is new to the Stags’ Leap portfolio. The 2020 vintage is their third year of production of this variety. The grapes are grown in the winery’s Gamble Vineyard in the Oakville AVA, northwest of the winery in Stags’ Leap District AVA. Winemaker Christophe Paubert waited 10 years for the grapes to meet his exacting criteria for making the best quality wine. Pale yellow color, ripe juicy peach, grapefruit, lime zest aromas and intense juicy flavors of peach, green apple, pink grapefruit and Meyer lemon zest, enlivened with tangy, crisp acidity and a structure that allows the flavors to linger on the tongue. It’s just the wine for a chicken breast baked with lemon and fresh herbs or a Sala Nicoise.” - Rebecca Murphy, April 19, 2022
Winemaking
Winemaking
The beauty of Sauvignon Blanc is captured in its freshness, and the modern winemaking techniques used by Winemaker Christophe Paubert to preserve that freshness and splendor. To improve the varietal expression prior to fermenting, the winemakers used a technique in which intentional skin contact takes place, then after pressing the juice, the juice and lees are in tank together for up to four days prior to fermentation, to create more aromatic richness and mouthfeel. The wine undergoes fermentation in-barrel in 17% new and 53% neutral French Oak barrels, while 30% of the juice was put into stainless steel tanks for additional freshness, then the wine is aged in the same barrels for six months. This wine does not go through malolactic fermentation as sometimes other white varietals do, like Chardonnay, and this helps to preserve the delicate floral aromas, fruit freshness and balanced acidity of Sauvignon Blanc.
Christophe Paubert - Winemaker
For Christophe Paubert, Winemaker and General Manager at Stags’ Leap Winery, the identity of a wine is found through the terroir. Christophe’s career has spanned the industry from sales to winemaking, and his impressive background includes positions at Chateau d’Yquem and Gruaud-Larose as well as projects in Chile, Spain and Washington State. But it was the terroir of Stags’ Leap that drew him to California.
Vintage
Vintage Note
The 2020 season will be remembered for factors beyond the typical harvest season. It was a warm, dry winter and the rain and cooler weather didn’t arrive until the end of March. While the mild spring season was a great early start, our winery working conditions had extensive safety protocols due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days, but then harvest was interrupted by wildfires across California, which came as grapes started to be picked, and we were very fortunate that none of our vineyards were in the areas of the active fires. The white wine harvest started in early August, the wines are showing excellent development in cellars, reflecting the fine vintage year. While the red wine harvest will be smaller yielding, and proved to be one of the most challenging in history, but our winemakers remained optimistic and very complimentary of the high quality achieved from this unprecedented vintage.
Vineyard
Napa Valley AVA
Vineyards
Our Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from our distinctive Gamble Ranch vineyard in the Oakville AVA. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, Oakville is an excellent location for growing Sauvignon Blanc, providing sufficient sun exposure for ripening with a diversity of soil types that creates balance and acidity. Sauvignon Blanc planted here shows flavor complexity and refined aromatic expression, ideal for our bottling. Winemaker Christophe Paubert waited 10 years for the perfect conditions in 2018 to produce the inaugural vintage of this Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, a tribute to his home growing region of Bordeaux, France.
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