2010 Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc

When I first heard of the white wine from Screaming Eagle, I was quite surprised. Although I know that some parts of Napa Valley can produce world class wines from Sauvignon Blanc (or at least, as good as a wine from Sauvignon Blanc outside Bordeaux can be), I couldn't imagine that Screaming Eagle would ever make one.

   Very if, if any, could ever have thought that. Actually, not even one of the new owners since 2005, Charles Banks, thought about it.

"Well, when we studied the vineyard, we knew we had to replant it in a much better way, we couldn't just continue to make the wine in the same way as Jean Phillips and her winemaker Heidi Peterson-Barrett did, we had the worlds eyes on us", he said to me a few weeks ago.

"And we found a spot in the northwestern corner of our vineyard, that I found to be much better suited for Sauvignon Blanc than Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc, and Merlot actually doesn't perform very well in our vineyard", he added.
   The Sauvignon Blanc grapes were never intended to be a commercial wine, if they ever should make it themselves, and if so, I was to be used for PR tastings and dinners, and as a giveaway.
   But with the 2010 vintage, the now sole owner Stanley Kroenke, decided to sell it on the mailing list. It's now even more rare and sought after than the red Screaming Eagle. And it is of course the talk of the day since very people have tasted it, or even seen a bottle or a picture of a bottle.

2010 Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc / 93 p

This is a 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc from a small lot in the northwestern section of the vineyard, planted in 2006. The grapes are harvested at full phenolic ripeness, but still with a high acidity (and there's no acidification taken place at Screaming Eagle since 2005). The juice is fermented in two small new French oak barrels, to a alcohol level of just above 14 percent.
   The nose is quite intense and open, fresh and floral with nuances of lilies and summer meadow (grass and small flowers) and with that typical California sauvignon touch of passion fruit. A part from a small note of vanilla, the oak is extremely well integrated.
   On the palate it's medium full, very elegant and pure with a lovely acidity to balance the intense but very elegant fruit body. The alcohol is very well balanced, and the aftertaste is long, floral, fresh and very elegant.

I tasted the wine blind with a few friends, and we were all very excited when we realized that it was the white eagle we had in our glasses. And tasted it blind, I have to say it's not at floral as the sauvignon from Araujo and their Eisele Vineyard, or as light and crisp as that of Spottswoode, or as heavy as the Robert Mondavi I-Block Fumé Blanc from very old vines in To Kalon Vineyard, and it's not oak spicy as the great sauvignon from Vineyard 29 and the Georgia of Lail Vineyard. It's more elegant and complex that those other very great sauvignons of Napa Valley.

   It's actually one of the best, if not the best, sauvignon I have tasted in California, yet. However, it comes with an extremely high price, $250 plus tax from the winery, or $1500 to 1700 on the second hand market.
Drink it over the next 5-6 years.

Lively and lovely sauvignons from Dragonette Cellars

Dragonette Cellars is a newcomer on the Santa Barbara wine scene, and a good one. The winery was founded in 2005 by the wine loving brothers John and Steve Dragonette and Brandon Sparks-Gillis, whom they met in Los Angeles when buying wines from the store he worked in then. “We became friends, and soon we realized we shared the same passion for wines, the same ideas, and also the dream of making our own wines”, Brandon says.

All good things are three, so the trio joined forces and worked hard to establish their own label. Brandon, who had a history in several Santa Barbara County wineries, again took the role as intern at several wineries, among them Sine Qua Non, to add knowledge and experience.
   Dragonette Cellars have their own small winery in Lompoc, just as so many other small handcraft wineries in the region. They follow the traditional methods in making their wines, either whole cluster or fully destemmed grapes, a few days of cold soak, then fermentation with the native yeast in small, around one ton open bins, utilizing pigeage for gentle extraction. French oak barrels are used, and luckily, the amount of new oak is moderate.
   The annual production has now reached around 3 000 cases, and that’s a level that Brandon is comfortable with. Three types of wines are made, a couple of lively wines of Sauvignon Blanc, a range of intense and seductive wines of Pinot Noir and a few wines of Rhône varietals. Focused should be at the sauvignons and pinots, that’s the real deal at Dragonette Cellars.

2010 Santa Ynez Valley Sauvignon Blanc / 87 p
This is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc from three single vineyards, the Vogelzang and Grassini in the inland appellation Happy Canyon and the Refugio Ranch on the slopes of Santa Ynez Mountains. The great thing about this wine is its absolute purity rather than complexity – few wines of Sauvignon Blanc are complex in the sense chardonnays or cabernets can be. Around 60 percent of the juice is slowly fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel, the rest is fermented and raised in French oak barrels, of which just a few percent are new. Therefore pure varietal flavors and freshness is the personality of this wine. As expected, the nose is intense and highly aromatic with nuances of green apples, gooseberries and citrus, and there’s also a fine floral note here. On the palate, it is light to medium bodied, totally dry with a lively acidity that almost give the taste a tannic structure, and as the nose, it’s very aromatic.
   It’s a lovely wine to drink as a refreshing aperitif, or to be served to lighter dishes of steamed or seared white fish with lemon juice and olive oil, or greens or fresh herbs. Serve it at around 10-12 degrees Celsius, not more chilled that that.
Drink it 2011-2015

2010 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara Sauvignon Blanc / 89 p
Again, one hundred percent Sauvignon Blanc, and again grapes are sourced from Vogelzang Vineyard and Grassini Vineyard in Happy Canyon of Santa Ynez Valley. The difference is that this cuvée is the top selection of grapes from the best blocks in these vineyards, also the vinification is different. The juice is fermented in 225 and 500 liter French oak barrels, just some new, and after malolaktisk fermentation the wines has been kept on the fine lees for around ten to eleven months to gain some weight and texture.
   Not surprisingly, this wine is richer and broader with more depths and length. Still it is as intense and aromatic as the Santa Ynez Valley version, however much more polished and actually, yes, complex. It’s not really Bordeaux like, it too rich and fruit forward for that, but it’s more in that direction than in any other. The oak has given the wine a certain vanilla flavor and viscosity, but this is by no means a wine where the oak is overly obvious. If the regular bottling should be drunk young and slightly chilled, this one can med poured at 10-14 degrees Celsius to deliver more of its richness, and be kept in the cellar for a number of years. Try this wine with seared scallops, grilled lobster or not too spicy Thai food.
Drink it 2011-2018

Sauvignon Blanc à la Lail Vineyards

Although Lail Vineyards made their first wine in 1996, it rests on a story that’s amazing. It’s founder Robin Lail is the daughter of the late John Daniel Jr, who in turn was the son of John Daniel, the legendary winemaker of Inglenook, a vineyard that his uncle Gustave Niebaum planted in the 1880s.

At that time, Inglenook was the most famous vineyard in the still young valley, and although Inglenook today is a simple wine brand, the reputation of the old vineyard and the wines of that time, is impeccable. But that’s all old history.

In 1983 Robin Lail founded Merryvale together with Bill Harlan, and founded Dominus Estate with Christian Moueix in 1991. Things didn’t work out the way Robin wanted, as she told me she’s not a woman who takes five bites on the apple and is happy with that, she’s a woman who wants the whole apple. So she sold her shares in both ventures to found her own company, Lail Vineyards. She still had a 0.85 hectare portion of the famous Napanook Vineyard in Yountville that she together with her winemaker Philippe Melka budded over to Sauvignon Blanc, but also had planted 1.20 hectares of Cabernet Sauvinon (predominately) on a beautiful northwest facing slope way up on Howell Mountain. That’s the source of the grapes to the great J Daniel Cuvée, a very elegant cabernet wine with good ageing potential.
But there’s more to Lail Vineyards than that fine wine, and the almost as good Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon, sold at half the price. These wines are very good, but the true jewel of the crown is the high end Georgia Sauvignon Blanc – one of the most profound sauvignons of the world outside Bordeaux.


2009 Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc / 89 p
This is made of 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc sourced from the estate Napanook Vineyard in Yountville as well as a cool vineyard down in Coombsville and, a bit surprisingly, the much warmer Crocker Vineyard that sits right in the middle of the valley in St Helena. “I just love the fruit from this vineyard”, Robin says. The grapes are slowly whole cluster pressed, but then the vinification takes a slightly different turn than in most cases – the juice is totally fermented in neutral French oak barrels with its own yeast, and then transferred into stainless steel tanks to mature for some months on its lees. The reason for this type of reversed oak and steel vinification is to gain texture and just a minimal touch of the oak, but the freshness and elegant fragrance that is kept, perhaps even enhanced by the time in steel. The result is very attractive, lively and fresh with a absolutely pure gooseberry, citrus and Granny Smith fruit. Compared to most California sauvignons without oak flavor, this has a very long and almost creamy texture, with weight and great mouthfeel, and that’s very attractive.
Serve it at around 12 degrees rather than very chilled to enjoy the richness.
Drink it 2011-2013

2008 Georgia Sauvignon Blanc / 93 p
This is a completely different wine, totally. “One shouldn’t compare them, that’s not fair”, Robin says, and I understand her perfectly well. For this wine, grapes are only sourced in the Napanook Vineyard, again the grapes are slowly whole cluster pressed before the juice is transferred into brand new French oak barrels to ferment with is natural yeast. Just a fraction of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, so the acidity is marked and lively, which is a great asset in the rich wine. The wine spent 18 months in the barrels, and during that time Philippe made bâtonnage to add texture.
This is truly an exceptional wine, richer and deeper than the regular bottling, and it offers intense flavors of citrus, grapefruit peels, white flowers and a dash of elderberries, also some vanilla from the oak. On the palate, its rich and creamy without being full bodied, and the high but very well balanced acidity gives the wine an almost astringent structure, and the flavors and overall impression is that it’s very Bordeaux like (but a bit richer and with a slightly higher alcohol). The finish is just amazing, and it kept on lingering for minutes. I’d recommend decanting this wine, as I do with the whites from Bordeaux.
My experience in keeping white wines from California for a long time is limited, and so far it has told me not to keep them too long.
Drink it 2011-2016

Nick and Luc Morlet – brothers in wine!

One could be funny and make a comparison with the famous Agatha Christie book “Ten Little Niggers” from 1939, and why not. The Morlet family has been cultivating vines in Champagne since the early 1800s, and today they farm around 30 small vineyards lots covering a total of 16.20 hectares, and they make champagne under their family label Champagne Pierre Morlet. Actually, "they" don't do, "he" does.
First there were three brothers. Then the oldest brother Luc Morlet left, after a journey in California, he went back to California in 1996, started to work as assistant winemaker behind John Kongsgaard at Newton Estate, got together with his girlfriend (they met earlier), married her, started to work at Peter Michael Winery and then left to work for Staglin Family Vineyard and to set up his own Morlet Family Vineyards in 2006.
Later the second and youngest brother, Nick Morlet, left Champagne and the family business to go to California, where he joined his brother Luc Morlet, and in December 2005 took over his job at Peter Michael Winery. He is still at that winery, and as his brother thrives in the California soil, climate and viticulture, so does he.
In Champagne, the middle brother Pierre Morlet, still works with the family vineyards, making champagne. As far as I know, he’s not on his way over the Atlantic.

2007 l'Aprés Midi of Peter Michael Winery / 88 p
The last vintages, the blend have been around 90-93 percent Sauvignon Blanc (mostly the Preston Clone, but also some Musqué Clone) with a balance of Sémillon, all grapes from Les Pavots Vineyard at approximately 420-440 meter of altitude. Color is pale straw, the nose bright and fresh and surprisingly shy (compared to what I’m used to in this wine), but very pure with delicious notes of lemon peel. Giving it a few minutes of air in the glass, some reticent notes of white lilies evolves, which adds to the complexity. Since only ten percent of the wine saw oak, it’s more fresh and steely. On the palate, it is as fresh and clean, but there is a fine texture that gives the wine a silkiness rather than the crisp structure one would look for in a sauvignon. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the oak fermented fraction was kept on its lees for ten to eleven months, with some bâtonnage to add that texture. Acidity, though, is fresh since there was no malolactic fermentation. It’s a nice, fresh and easy drinking, still quite complex wine. Try it with seafood, Thai food, elegant fish dishes … or just as it is.
Drink it 2011-2013.

2007 La Proportion Dorée of Morlet Family Wines / 91 p
The idea about this wine, Luc Morlet told me, was to find the average blend of the vintages of the greatest vintages of the white wine from Château Haut-Brion, hence the name (in French, of course) La Proportion Dorée. The golden recipe was 66 percent Sémillon, 32 percent Sauvignon Blanc and just two percent of Muscadelle.
At first, the nose is a bit closed with just small notes of lemon and yellow stone fruits, but knowing this wine quite well, I was patient enough to let it sit in my glass for another 15 minutes. Even that didn’t change the wine too much, but it made it open up a bit, and in blends like this it will make the Sémillon fraction take some more space. I found fine notes of bees wax and honey – not too much – but at this youthful stage the lemon notes is more dominant.
Compared to the l’Aprés Midi, this wine have more weight, some vanilla from the oak, slightly higher alcohol and longer taste. I prefer to serve this with more air (at least half an hour in a decanter) and at slightly higher temperature than the lighter l’Aprés Midi, let’s say 14 degrees, even though the alcohol is higher and show more. This is also a wine for richer dishes, like grilled fished and seafood with creamy sauces, or even poultry and white meat. It’s a lovely wine, but I rather drink it early – only a few California white wines ages with grace.
Drink it 2011-2015.

New wines from Alienor

Denis Malbec, former winemaker at Château Latour and since 2000 with his Swedish wife May-Britt vintner in Napa Valley, started to make wines under the Alienor label in 2005. Their red cuvée is a very good and highly recommended interpretation of red bordeauxs, and since based on Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it’s more towards the St Emilion style than the Médoc.
I’ve been writing about these wines before, but here are some new efforts well worth looking for. Both the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2008 La Roseraie are inaurugal releases, and in the pipeline there’s a dark red wine of Syrah and a sweet late harvest of Sauvignon Blanc. Both these wines are still in barrel when this report was written.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc / 88 p
This is the first vintage of the sauvignon, made of the Clone 1 from an organically block planted in 1998 on eroded alluvial soils at 400 meters of altitude in Vindrem Vineyard in Kelseyville in Lake County. Approximately a third of the juice is fermented in small steel drums, the rest in brand new French oak barrels. Denis Malbec told me he had to use new oak for this inaugural vintage, but in the future, there will be a third each of new oak, neutral oak and steel drums. There was no malolactic, so the acitiy is very fresh, but it is balanced by a fine texture, which to a certain extent was enhanced by some bâtonnage during the three months of oak ageing that took place. Color is pale straw and the nose is bright and intense with notes of grapefruit, some passion fruit and just a dash of the oak. It’s not too far away from white Bordeaux. I’d love to see this wine in the coming few years, as I expect it to evolve into a more complex taste just with another year in the bottle. Serve it at 12 degrees to oysters, elegant fish dishes, pan fried or grilled white fish with lemon, or just because it’s so good and refreshing. Only 133 cases were made of this wine.
Drink it 2011-2016.

2008 La Roseraie / 85 p
This rosé, also an inaugural vintage, is made with the saignée method by bleeding of the juice of equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and oinly two percent of Petit Verdot) after just a few hours of maceration from the fermentation of their 2008 Alienor Grand Vin. Again, grapes are sourced from vineyards in Lake County. The pink colored juice was fermented in neutral French oak barrels with commercial yeast and then kept in the oak for around one year, and during the ageing there was some bâtonnage. It’s a very classic rosé, pale pink in a typical French style, and the nose is quite elegant but also a bit closed. For sure there are notes of the oak, as well as texture and just some tannins and bitterness thereof, so I guess this is not everyones rosé. However, I find it attractive in it’s classical, well structured and somehow complex style, but I rather drink it with food (pasta, grilled fish or seafood, greens and cheeses) that having in on its own. Serve it a 12-14 degres.
Drink it 2011-2014.

2008 Alienor Grand Vin / 90-91 p
As the 2007 vintage, this is more or less a blend of 49 percent each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a splash of Petit Verdot. Five to seven days of cold soak, then the fermentation takes place in five ton stainless steel fermentes for two weeks with regular pump over. After little more than two weeks of postmaceration, the wine was barreled in French oak barrels, 70 percent new, and kept there for 22 months. It’s still a very young wine, driven by its rich and slightly sweet fruit and the spicy oak, but underneath that, there are those fine notes of lead pencil I found in the previous vintages, and I really like that. It would benefit from some more years of bottle age, or if drinking it today, a good hour or two of decanting. Also on the palate, it’s a bit closed, of course, and although the tannins are huge, they are mature and in no way aggressive, dry or bitter. They just hold the fruit back, today. Keeping the wine in the mouth for a minute, one more easily can take notice of the great and very much Bordeaux like qualities there is in the wine, and that’s very promosing.
Drink it 2013-2023.

Delicious Delicato – Fog Head wine series

Working almost exclusively with fine wines, I have to admit that I very rarely get moved by wines from the large wine companies, who more seems to seek for best buys than wines with a great and true personality. However, there are exceptions at many of the big wine companies. On my visit to Delicato Family Vineyards in the impressive San Bernabe Vineyard (sometimes described as the largest single vineyard in the world), I came with no expectations at all. Actually, I saw the appointment as one of those I have to do – to know, to understand, and to have done it. I spent two hours, tasting a lot of average wines, but also some surprisingly good!

Since the vineyard is so huge (I drove more than 20 kilometers back and forth in the vineyard, before I found the right house!), there is a lot of different soil types, altitudes, exposures to sunlight, winds and coastal fog. There is also a wide variety of grape varieties, clones and rootstocks, so the material the winemaking team has to work with is almost a never ending story. For that reason, the team has since 2005 made small volumes of quite delicious wines under the label Fog Head. And they are not expensive – that’s the good news!

2008 Fog Head Highlands Sauvignon Blanc / 84 p
Harvested at moderate ripeness, this cuvée of Sauvignon Blanc with a splash of Chardonnay and Viognier (to add some weight and flavors) from some of the cooler blocks in San Bernabe Vineyard is very fresh and dry. The juice is fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks to almost dryness (there is still almost 3 grams of residual sugar, very typical of the wines from Delicato), and it has a very fine nose with lemony and grassy qualities.

Drink it 2009-2010.

2007 Fog Head Limestone Ridge Chardonnay / 88 p
The grapes for this wine, comes from a cool block with almost white limestone soil in the San Bernabe Vineyard, and you can really smell and taste the mineral notes from the soil – which of course adds complexity to the wine. Fermentation is taken place in French, but also Hugarian and even American oak barrels, a small fraction of new barrels but most of them one to two years old. You will of course notice the oak, but it is very well integrated, and the personality of the wine is more the cool climate fruit with just small notes of sweeter tropical fruits. On the palate, it’s dryer that any of the wines from Delicato, which I find to be very good (and which also adds some extra points!) and it is indeed a much better chardonnay than you’ll find at much higher prices at a lot of much more fancy wineries than Delicato. It’s really a great choice! 1600 cases were made.

Drink in 2010-2011.

2005 Blow Sand Syrah / 85 p
There is two red wines under the Fog Head label, and although the Hillside Pinot Noir is acceptable, it is the weakest of them. I prefer this syrah that is picked from selected blocks in the San Bernabe Vineyard. Compared to the other Fog Head wines, this is the most Californian, and its alcohol has reached 15 per cent. Still there is a good portion of finesse here, and although the fruit is quite rich, dark and intense, you’ll also find some complex notes of licorice and dried herbs on the nose, and the oak is well integrated. Also, there is a fine acidity to balance the richness and the tannins. 600 cases were made.

Drink it over the next 3-5 years.

Destruction Level Sauvignon Blanc from Wrath

Over the past decade, we have seen a tremendous evolution among Californian white wines, from heavily oaked and full malolactic wines, to wines of more finesse, structure and complexity. For being the most planted green grape variety, the most notable change has been seen with Chardonnay, but the search for finesse is an overall winning concept among Californian white wine makers. One of the true winners in this is Sauvignon Blanc, for which we have seen a great evolution since early 90s. Over the state, there are now loads of crisp, aromatic, and elegant wines of Sauvignon Blanc to be found. Most of them show notes of grapefruit rather than flavors of gooseberries, asparagus and bell pepper, and few of them taste like the wines of New Zealand or Loire. But there are some exceptions, and perhaps the most French styled of them all, comes from the recent established Wrath Wines in Arroyo Seco, just across the road from the higher regarded appellation Santa Lucia Highland (from 2010, their estate vineyard will be included in Santa Lucia Highlands).


2008 Destruction Level Sauvignon Blanc / 90 p
At first I really thought I had a Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé in my glass, there were so much of cool climate and limestone mineral notes on the nose. It didn’t really remind me of grapefruit or sweeter tropical fruits, more like grass, gooseberries and minerals, and with its intensity it wasn’t really that far from the great wines of the late Didier Daggenau. On the palate, it is as intense as on the nose, and it shows a great complexity with a for California quite rare balance of body, texture, fruit (not to sweet), acidity (which is high, very high indeed), and mineral notes. Also it lingers in the mouth for quite a while, and it is really a delicious wine.
The wine is mainly made of Sauvignon Blanc of the Musqué clone, but there is also around five per cent of the Mount Eden clone of Chardonnay in the blend. To get to the perfect balance of crisp acidity and ripe fruit flavors and body, the harvest is made in two steps, one early at 20-21 Brix, and one later at 23 Brix. Grapes are mainly sourced from the estate San Saba Vineyard, they are cold soaked for 24 hours before they are gently pressed. The juice is then fermented in a combination of stainless steel and neutral French oak barrels. Drink it 2009-2011.