Winemaker Notes
2016 in Napa Valley provided perfect growing conditions for the Sauvignon Grape, and the Georgia brilliantly reflects this. Its aromatics explode with jasmine, white truffle, pear, white peach and brioche, with intense flavors adding melon, nectarine and tangerine. The texture is creamy and rich, with a lingering finish that goes on for minutes. This is classic Georgia and simply has it all!
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Exciting and dense white with lemon-zest and dried-pineapple character. Peaches, limes and fennel, too. Full and flavorful. Dried fruit comes through. Finishes minerally, salty and dry. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Georgia Sauvignon Blanc comes 100% from Totem Vineyard in Yountville and is fermented and aged 18 months in 100% new French oak. It leaps from the glass with notions of ripe peaches, fresh pears, pineapple and guava with touches of chalk dust, white pepper, dill seed and honeysuckle. Medium to full-bodied, it completely coats the palate with tropical fruits and spicy layers, lifted with a zippy line of acidity and finishing long and minerally. Give it another year or two in bottle and drink it over the next 8-10 years. 350 cases produced, to be released in July 2019.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Georgia is another Bordeaux Blanc look-alike and reminds me of a white from the likes of Smith Haut Lafitte in the Graves region of Bordeaux. Fermented all in new French oak, this powerful, concentrated effort boasts a vivid gold color, notes of lemon curd, spiced melon, and tart pineapple, medium to full body, bright acidity, and a layered, concentrated, rich texture that develops beautifully with time in the glass. Don’t miss it.
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 Napa Valley's most historic sub-appellations, Yountville spreads through some of the valley's ideal cooler sites and enjoys success with a handful of different and significant grape varieties.
Syrah competes strongly with Cabernet Sauvignon here for optimal vineyard real estate followed by Pinot noir, Pinot blanc and Sauvignon blanc.
This sub-AVA of Napa Valley is rich in the history that makes Napa Valley what it is today, and not just for red wines. Moët & Chandon entered the California winemaking business via Yountville in 1973 with the establishment Domaine Chandon. Their goal has always been to produce top quality méthode champenoise sparkling wines.
Christian Moueix, originally responsible for managing Chateau Petrus and La Fleur-Petrus in Pomerol, arrived in Yountville in the early 1980s. He formed a partnership with Rohin Lail and Marcia Smith, inheritors of Napanook vineyard from their father John Daniel of Inglenook in Rutherford. In 1995 Moueix became sole owner of Napanook and chose the name Dominus, which today produces some of Napa’s highest scoring, age-worthy Bordeaux Blends.