March 23, 2010 - Nose grapefruit, lemons, grass, minerals, and shells. On the palate the sour is perfection. Also shows tropical fruit, grapefruit, minerals, floral and grass. Medium finish and very refreshing. Served recently with a crab cake and wow!
December 21, 2009 - Solid. Crisp. Grapefruit juice and crushed stone. Astringent at first but softens at the right temp.
April 3, 2009 - Well focused mineral based SB with plenty of citrus and a creamy base.
March 28, 2009 - Nice sauvignon blanc. Pale yellow color with lemon on the nose. Acidity/citrus flavors you would expect, with lemon and pineapple notes most prominent. Light-medium body with creamy texture and decent finish.
December 8, 2008 - No doubt from the nose of the varietal. Rich and structured, with no flabbiness. Good fruit. Still excellent days later. Terrific QPR.
November 14, 2008 - Poured at a retailer tasting. Aromas of lemongrass and mineral, with nice fruit and steely, mineral qualities on the palate. 89-90 pts.
September 26, 2008 - Popped and poured. Wanted to know what the fuss was about and why it was $26 / bottle. I have to say that my expectations were met. Slight residual carbonation from fermentation in the bottle always a nice little surprise. Nice nose of gooseberry and green apple. Palate is very clean with a thicker texture than you find from French or NZ sav blancs. May have spent a little time in oak or gone through malo-lactic fermentation. Very nice and unexpected. Even with the slightly creamy mouth feel there is good acidity and overall its very well balanced. Definite gooseberry-grapefruit with hints of grass and tropical fruits on the palate. Would like to see a longer finish for the near $30 price tag. Good special occasion or gift bottle. A great effort from Napa! (CMS A-)
September 6, 2008 - Nose of green apple. Bright citrus on the palate with loads of grapefruit. Still one of my favorite SBs.
August 23, 2008 - -- popped and poured --
-- tasted non-blind --
NOSE: A very expressive and complex bouquet for a CA Sauv. Blanc: it has both the grassy thing and the crisp acidity thing going on, which impresses me because normally you get one or the other with Sauv. Blancs; secondary notes of musk melon and a hint of oak; with time, interesting aspects of lavender and liverwurst come forward.
BODY: clear; pale yellow color; medium bodied.
TASTE: a strong mid-palate attack starts you off with grassy bell pepper notes, but then gives way to essence of juniper berries on the long finish. Slightly hot, time to drink up.
B: 50, 5, 13, 16, 7 = 91
August 19, 2008 - this bottle was much better than previous bottles. Not as good as the 07