Winemaker Notes
The 2017 shows this balance in spades. The typical stone fruit, white flower, and lightly herbaceous aromatics are perfectly complemented with crisp, minerally flavors. The sturdiness of the wine holds up to classical Sauvignon Blanc pairings but allows for culinary exploration as well. I have been known to uncork a bottle after an evening of powerful red wines to lighten the mood and pair with a perfectly ripened Brillat-Savarin.
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: There used to be a term in the wine evaluation business, "food wine." This term, though well intended, seemed to refer to a wine as light or insipid. When this term is thoughtfully understood, it explains the reality that wine is meant to be paired with food. The Frog's Leap Sauvignon has always been a wine meant for the dining table. The 2017 vintage is one of the winery's best to date. TASTING NOTES: This wine is wildly good. Its aromas and flavors of tart citrus peel, dried leaves provide a perfect pairing with Hamachi. When push comes to shove, this Sauvignon Blanc is a beautiful "food wine." (Tasted: May 11, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.