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2005 SAUVIGNON BLANC
Westerly Vineyard, Santa Barabara County

Vines thrive in warm climates, so it was with great trepidation in 2005 that I watched the vines at Westerly, situated as they are in the warm Happy Canyon area of Santa Ynez Valley. A lot more hand work in the vineyard needed to be done for sure, but the poor soils on which our sauvignon blanc is planted did their magic, and, after some severe fruit thinning, we ended up with nicely balanced vines. Our sections yielded 2.9 tons per acre, roughly half of the vineyard's potential in 2005. This reasonably modest crop gave us an intensely flavored, herb and mineral inflected sauvignon blanc that has tons of personality and a very dry, zingy finish.

Since 1998, all our sauvignon blancs have come from the same block at Westerly, and all of them are drinking well today. This 2005 can be enjoyed now for its zesty personality; however, I usually like these wines best after a year or two in the bottle