Winemaker Notes
Expressive and exuberant, this wine stands out with its mouthwatering appeal. Inviting peach, white florals, and orange peel unfold immediately, with a sense of yellow pear flavors on the mid palate leading to a long finish. Succulent and juicy, the 2024 is beautifully balanced in texture and acidity, chronicling a dynamic and variable growing season.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
The combination of ferments for this complex white includes French oak, stainless steel barrels, clay amphora, and concrete and ceramic cuves. With selections of Sauvignon Musqué and Tofanelli Semillon, the aromas of pineapple, wet stone, and grapefruit zest are heady and persistent. Stark notes of white grapefruit revel within a grasp of tightwire acidity. Mediterranean herbs and ripe peach weave through rock and white flowers. Lemon verbena settles on the palate, a soothing finish after a lightning strike of vibrancy.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Recently, I attended a tasting of Stags Leap District wines in the AVA, and just like my many visits to Pessac-Léognan in Bordeaux, I came for the Cabernets but I stayed for the Sauvignon Blancs. As with my introduction to Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon with the release of the winery’s inaugural 1982 release, time has brought me to love their SBs as well as their outstanding Cabs. The 2024 Sauvignon Blanc is a show-stopper. This wine exudes aromas and flavors of piquant citrus, attractive herbs, dried olives, and fragrant spices. Match this wine with raw oysters with ponzu sauce, yuzu juice, finely chopped scallions, and a dab of grated daikon or chili. (Best Served: 2025-2031)
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James Suckling
So fresh, citrusy, clean and minerally. A classic style of white that blends herbaceous aromas of snap peas and thyme with lemon, grapefruit and white peach flavors. Contains 5% semillon grapes from old vines.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Spottswoode's 2024 Sauvignon Blanc draws fruit from both Sonoma (57%) and Napa (43%), incorporating 6% Sémillon as well. Fermented and matured in a mix of new and used French oak, stainless steel and "other" vessels (amphora, ceramic, concrete), it's a lively wine, with white grapefruit easily combining and underpinning riper notes of fig and guava. Medium- to full-bodied, it's silky, elegant and long on the finish.
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Wine Spectator
White grapefruit, pomelo and fresh ginger notes are light and fresh on first impression, but the flavors and intensity grow, with lemongrass, vetiver and coriander details, plus a crystalline lemon salt element. Shows elegance on the long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 95% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Semillon (from Napa and Sonoma County) and aged in 27% new oak, the 2024 Sauvignon Blanc offers juicy citrus and hints of grapefruit intermixed with minty flowers on the nose. It's medium-bodied, plush, and supple on the palate and has a fruit-driven profile with tons of charm.
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Vinous
The 2024 Sauvignon Blanc is a pretty, open-knit wine that captures the generosity of the year. Pear, apricot, yellow flowers and sage are some of the notes that take shape in the glass. Floral overtones lift the finish. This is an open-knit, accessible vintage for the Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc.
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.