Winemaker Notes
This young wine is presently tightly coiled with a long future in store. With a little air, the wine displays classically reductive notes of gunflint, alongside a fascinating mélange of rich tropical yellow fruits (mango, pineapple, passion fruit), stone fruits, (nectarine, apricot), melons, golden delicious apples, and ripe pear. The fruit aromas are lifted by notes of white flowers, minerals, graphite, fresh herbs (basil, tarragon, thyme) and hints of baking spice (vanilla, nutmeg, and clove). On the palate the wine opens slowly, but forcefully, with rich, mouth-filling waves of tropical fruits, stone fruits, and spices, mingling with minerals, flowers, citrus notes (Texas red grapefruit, lemon zest orange peel). The wine is medium to full-bodied and intriguing; the citrus and acids holding the fruits and minerals aloft on the long, penetrating finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Vogelzang Vineyard comes from more gravelly soils and spent 12 months in 10% new oak followed by six months in tank. It's the most exotic of the releases and has a big perfume of exotic flowers, white currants, figs, and honeysuckle. Beautifully textured, medium-bodied, with good acidity but plenty of richness and length, it's another singular, gorgeous Sauvignon Blanc from this estate that's up with the best of the best.
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Decanter
Vogelzang Vineyard provides the most ripe and rich Sauvignon Blanc expression in the Dragonette Cellars line-up. The 2017 gives off aromas of saffron, starfruit and peach skin. The palate is opulent and supple, with flavors of guava and crème fraîche. The distinctive “green” quality of the Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blancs is still present here despite the richer style. There is consistently fantastic balance between density and lift throughout the Dragonette wines.
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Wine Spectator
Complex, offering vibrant lemon, grapefruit and passion fruit flavors that mingle effortlessly with lanolin, dried honeysuckle and spice details. Finishes with intensity and a grace note of beeswax.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Vogelzang Vineyard has a serious, savory nose of honeyed peaches, kiwi tart, dried hay, honeysuckle and spiced red apples with accents of crushed stone and citrus peel. The palate is medium-bodied and rounded with an energetic fruit profile, tangy acidity and a long 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.
On the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley, the rolling hills of the tiny Happy Canyon AVA produce top quality reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and whites from Sauvignon blanc. The region’s low-nutrient soil grows smaller vines and in turn, higher quality wine grapes.