Guenoc Estate Sauvignon Blanc 1998
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Table Suggestions: Enjoy with crawfish, oysters, vichyssoise.
Guenoc Valley lies sixty miles north of San Francisco — a breathtaking panorama of oak-strewn grasslands, rolling green hills, craggy outcroppings and perfect volcanic cinder cones, painted with the shimmer of a dozen azure lakes. The 21,349-acre Langtry Estate is one of the largest contiguous private land holdings in California, and among the most beautiful.
Guenoc wines are sourced from a blend of estate vineyards and premier growing sites from around California. Soils range from rocky volcanic highlands to mountain valleys lined with gravelly riverbeds. The combination of these unique sites allows us to produce wines that exemplify the diversity found in these distinct regions.
Guenoc California wines embody the independent spirit of famed actress and winery founder, Lillie Langtry, who defied the conventions of her time and forged her own path, becoming a Lake County vintner in 1888. The wines are fresh, vivacious, and distinctly California.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.