2020 Alder Grove Sauvignon Blanc
Dry Creek Valley
Alder Grove provides shaded habitat for spawning fish and the trees' roots nourish the soil where the grapes for this Sauvignon Blanc grow. The label features an alder catskin, the tree's flower that blossoms at nearly the same time as the grape berries form.
WINEMAKING NOTES
Picking at multiple maturities, or ripeness, levels, a practice we call Phased Picking, occurred across a 2½-week period, being a bit more compressed than usual for us. In addition to phased picking, we also utilized 25% Semillon from both our home estate of Wine Creek Ranch (21.5%) and the locally sourced Rued vineyard (3.5%) which happens to be 50+ years old. The Semillon here broadens mouthfeel, adding layers of richness and softening the acidity, all the while adding a complex honey/beeswax character to the aromatics. For this vintage we fermented and aged 80% in barrels of different sizes, and 20% stainless steel, but unlike our Fig Tree and Queue Collection bottlings only French oak was used. Percent new oak = 20%. No malolactic (ML).
THE WINE
The wine is pale straw in color and day bright. The nose is filled with white rose, walnut, almond skin, and apricot pit. In the mouth, this Sauvignon blanc really delivers with flavors of Apricot, Star Fruit, and bitter herbs. Further along comes minerality reminiscent of wet river rock. The wine is all at once rich and nutty but also refreshing due to the rifling acidity. Kind of a paradox that begs for a nice wedge of French cheese. The finish is substantial with flavors of crunchy Asian pears and a hint of bitter arugula.
TECHNICAL NOTES
APPELLATION: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
VINEYARDS: 96.5% Wine Creek Ranch, Quiviras home vineyard,
CCOF-certified organic. 3.5% from nearby Rued Vineyard
COMPOSITION: 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon
FERMENTATION: 80% fermentation and aging in barrel, 20% in stainless. Of the barrel fraction, 100% was French oak, so no Acacia here. Overall % new oak was 20% by volume.
BARREL AGING: 7 months in the above