Winemaker Notes
This Sauvignon Blanc jumps out of the glass with pink grapefruit, Asian pear, white peach, lemon oil, lime leaf, and lemongrass aromatics. The palate confirms the nose and is extremely bright and tense, showing great balance. Bright guava, juicy stone fruit, and hints of pineapple pair with a grapefruit acidity that lead to a long finish. Frequent lees bâtonnage adds a level of creaminess and more layers of complexity. Showing beautifully now, this wine also has the structure and sophistication to age gracefully for enjoyment in the future.
Blend: 98% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc is outstanding. While hard to pin down, I knew that this wine was "special" from the moment I sniffed it to the end when I placed the glass down. TASTING NOTES: This wine starts quietly before rising up to a crescendo of aromatic and flavorful delights. From earth, to citrus, and ripe stone fruit, and finally to dried herbs, this is a complete wine. Pair it with the right evening and a plate with raw oysters, cracked Dungeness crab, and grilled jumbo prawns. (Tasted: May 13, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
The producer sources from a handful of exceptional sites here, including Hyde in Carneros and Farina on Sonoma Mountain, as well as its own St. Helena estate. Juicy and lengthy with power and substance, it is fresh and well integrated, blossoming in bright lemon peel, peach and guava.
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Jeb Dunnuck
One of my favorite Sauvignons from Napa comes from this great estate, and their 2019 Sauvignon Blanc is another winner, revealing a light gold hue as well as lively notes of white grapefruit, candied lemon, and white flowers. Medium-bodied, lightly textured, and beautifully balanced, with a salty, crisp, dry finish, it's ideal for enjoying over the coming 3-5 years or so.
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James Suckling
A medium-bodied white with intense aromas of guava, passion fruit, lemon zest and green apple. Fresh, dry and fruity with bright, tangy acidity. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Fans of this pure, clean, crisp mineral-driven gem will not be disappointed with the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc. Opening with vibrant lemon and lime juice scents with hints of mandarin peel, coriander seed, chalk dust and wild thyme, it bursts with zesty flavor in the mouth. Medium-bodied, there's a lovely satiny suggestion to the texture and lots of oyster shell and pebbly layers, finishing deliciously refreshing.
Spottswoode is an historic, family-owned estate vineyard and winery located on the western edge of St. Helena in Napa Valley. The estate was established in 1882 by George Schonewald, whose historic Victorian home is depicted on the label. Spottswoode was christened by Mrs. Albert Spotts, whose family owned the property from 1910 until its purchase in 1972 by Mary Weber Novak and her husband, Dr. Jack Novak. After Jack died unexpectedly in 1977, Mary carried out their shared dream, and Spottswoode’s debut Cabernet Sauvignon was produced in 1982, exactly one hundred years after the estate’s founding.
To ensure the highest quality, Spottswoode is dedicated to producing a handful of wines in very limited quantities: Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Lyndenhurst, and Field Book. The winery's goal is to produce exceptional, well-balanced, structured wines that exhibit texture, elegance, consistency and the ability to age well.
The 40-acre Spottswoode Estate Vineyard is an ideal terroir for growing wine grapes. Situated on the apex of the Sulphur Creek fan, the alluvial soils comprised primarily of sandy clay loam provide superb drainage. The gap between the Mayacamas Range and Spring Mountain admits cooling maritime breezes that temper the sun’s heat, creating an ideal microclimate for winegrowing. Among the first to introduce organic farming practices in the Napa Valley in 1985, Spottswoode is proud to have enjoyed the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) certification since 1992 and Demeter Biodynamic Certification since 2020. Spottswoode is also Napa Valley’s first Certified B-Corp winery.
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.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.