Winemaker Notes
Blend: 98% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of sliced lemon, apple, ginger and honey blossom. Meyer lemon, too. Medium to full body, creamy texture. Wild and vivid flavors with so much going on here. Tangy and vivid. Terrific quality for the vintage. Excellent acid. 100% barrel fermented, 60% stainless and 40% oak.
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Wine Enthusiast
A flinty, herbaceous aroma leads to nicely layered flavors of citrus, ginger and limestone in this complex, subtle and fascinating wine. Nervy acidity braces the ample herb and fruit flavors for an especially energized mouthfeel.
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Wine Spectator
This generous version displays intense aromatics of honeysuckle, passionfruit and litsea oil up front. Shows preserved lemon, grilled peach, dried pineapple, ginger and mango notes, with details of makrut lime leaf that linger on the long, vibrant and expressive finish. Drink now. 4,467 cases made.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2022 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc is one of the world's finest examples of this grape variety; it has been one of my favorites. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of ripe melon, hints of dried herbs, earthy notes, and hints of oak. Serve it with grilled, panko-coated Petrale sole, and enjoy. (Tasted: June 15, 2023, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
The iconic Napa producer fermented this Sauvignon Blanc in French oak, small stainless steel barrels, clay amphora, and ceramic and concrete cuves. Intense sweet peach aromas leap forth, followed by tarragon, sea foam and lemon zest notes. The palate is fresh with pronounced citrus flavors, followed by ripe apricot and briny minerality.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Bright and racy, with lots of citrus, subtle grapefruit, and some chalky minerality, the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is medium-bodied, has a balanced lively mouthfeel, and a clean finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Spottswoode's 2022 Sauvignon Blanc blends fruit from Napa and Sonoma—the proportions are 58% Napa and 42% Sonoma this year. Fermented and matured in a mix of new and used oak, stainless steel and amphorae/eggs, the wine boasts lovely citrus notes—lemon-lime and some riper expressions as well—plus touches of fig and guava. It's medium to full-bodied, a bit plump and creamy on the mid-palate, then fresh and zesty on the finish.
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.