Winemaker Notes
The 2024 has aromas of pear, yellow apple, honeysuckle, white peach, mango, pineapple, guava, and tropical fruits. On the palate are flavors of lemon, green apple, Bartlett pear, grapefruit, honeydew melon, lemon custard, lemon grass, and passion fruit. The wine finishes with a vibrant acidity and a beautiful creamy texture. The addition of Viognier and the Sauvignon Musqué adds a lot of the honeysuckle and floral notes. The concrete eggs and the barrel ferments add a creamy texture to the wine, giving it more complexity and length while maintaining a great freshness and vibrancy.
Blend: 89% Sauvignon Blanc, 9% Sauvignon Musqué, 1% Viognier, 1% Sémillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of grilled lemons, salted grapefruit and wet stones. The palate is textural, with bright acidity and a lovely core of fruit. It shows plenty of freshness, with undertones of orange blossoms and candied citrus peel. A blend of 89% sauvignon blanc, 9% sauvignon musque and touches of semillon and viognier.
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Tasting Panel
Aromas: Peach blossom, guava, lemon ice Blended with Viognier and Sauvignon Musqué, this stunning wine fermented in concrete egg and barrel. White flowers and summer peach are amplified by striking acidity. Luscious orange creamsicle and creamy passion fruit linger on the finish.
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.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.