Winemaker Notes
The 2023 vintage was a exceptional for Napa Valley, and we were very delighted to bring in grapes of high quality, and were extremely pleased with the Yountville vineyard for our Sauvignon Blanc with a extremely tiny quantity of Semillion and Muscat.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
While Napa Valley is home to Great Cabernets, like Bordeaux, this growing region produces some dynamite Sauvignon Blancs, and the 2023 Patent Wines Sauvignon Blanc is such a wine. This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of fragrant spices, dried herbs, and a touch of vanilla. Try it with linguine and clams in a white sauce. (Tasted: October 26, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc offers grassy, lemon, and lime notes intermixed with sappy floral nuances. Aged in 30% new French oak, 30% neutral French oak, and 40% stainless steel, it's medium-bodied, clean, and balanced, with bright acidity.
Patent Wines was formed to create exceptional wines of distinction & excellence from site specific vineyards within an AVA. From lengthy experience and know-how, paired with Bordeaux best practices honed over 45 harvests, they hand produce authentic wines. Patent Wines is the brainchild of two California wine industry veterans, Tom Rinaldi and Eric Risch. Rinaldi was the founding winemaker at Duckhorn, a role he filled from 1978 to 2000 during which he brought the merlot grape and the Duckhorn name to worldwide attention. He went on to establish and nurture such wineries as Pellet Estate, Provenance and Hewitt. Risch is an entrepreneur and marketing genius who turned to winery development and managing with Pellet Estate. Both Tom and Eric were initially going to keep a few of their best quality barrels for personal consumption and to share with friends and family. However, in 2020, both men had plenty of downtime and decided to partner and create very limited production wines focused either on specific vineyard sites or AVA’s. This lead to the creation of Patent wines. Their initial releases have all received high praise.
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.