Years ago, in one of my
little newsletters, I wrote that sauvignon blanc's fall from grace
was much like zinfandel's, but that was before zin became popular
again. Sauvignon blanc has never had a revival, and that is a
pity because it easily deserves the attention and renewed interest
that zinfandel received. There is no more refreshing and versatile
white wine than sauvignon blanc, and it is an ever so much better
match with food than chardonnay could hope to be.
You might not realize that
we have make sauvignon blanc since 1984. This grape variety is
one of my favorites and has proved to be one of the most challenging
for me to make. My direction in fashioning the wine has changed
a lot over the years. Originally, I took expensive white Bordeaux
as my model and tried my best to hide the character of sauvignon
blanc with lots of semillon and oak. Those fancy Bordeaux whites
fascinated me at first, but somehow they were never that satisfying
to drink. It took me more than ten years to realize that, since
I really prefer sauvignon blanc that tastes like sauvignon blanc,
I should be making it that way too. Obviously there are some fabulous
Bordeaux blancs that aren't over-oaked, but still I found the
spicy wines from Sancerre more my style.
Since 1998, we have been
getting our sauvignon blanc grapes from Westerly Vineyard at the
eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley. It has proven to be a great
spot. The soil is poor and the vines are low in vigor--which is
great for wine quality. We have our section pruned specially for
us to open up the canopy and limit the crop. From this we get
intensely flavored grapes that become character-filled wine. This
2001 is like a blend of the racy 1999 and the elegant 2000--another
winner for sure!