Sauvignon blanc – Geyser Peak 2007 2007 has emerged as another great year for Sauvignon Blanc, following firmly in the steps of the 2006. Both vintages rank evenly as the two best years of at least the last ten. A superb growing season resulted in rock-solid Sauvignon Blanc wines from all over-particularly from Sonoma County, where the majority of grapes for this wine were grown. Known for its bright, racy, and vibrantly fruit-forward style, Geyser Peak Winery’s Sauvignon Blanc has been defined for eighteen years by what is not done to the wine: no oak aging, no malolactic fermentation and no winemaking tricks. Our less-is-more approach to Sauvignon Blanc comes from the belief that the varietal’s characters come through best when handled as little as possible. We also believe that the best way to preserve these characters is to seal the bottle with a screwcap. Explosive aromas brimming with lemon, lime and citrus blossom mingle with gooseberry and passion fruit to proudly proclaim this wine’s varietal. A generous, fruit-forward palate shows juicy citrus flavors of lime, grapefruit and tangerine, balanced by bright, crisp acidity. The pleasant finish persists on the palate with great length of flavor. This is an easy-sipping, eminently drinkable wine that doesn’t sacrifice complexity or varietal character in its quest to be flat-out enjoyable. The perfect aperitif, this wine also makes an ideal partner to oysters and nearly any shellfish, as well as salads and light fish and chicken dishes. WINE PROFILE: Vintage: 2007 Wine Type: White Wine Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc Acid: 6.7 g/L PH: 3.39 Aging: Stainless Steel Bottling Date: November 2007 Residual Sugar: 3.8 g/L Alcohol %: 13 Vineyard Notes: The 2007 season started approximately one to two weeks early, primarily due to a short, dry winter and spring. Rainfall was about half of the normal average. The whole growing season was yet another classic year of beautiful Northern California weather. Warm, sunny days followed by cool evenings with a little less fog than normal. It was only right at harvest that the temperatures spiked and gave the final push to pick. The lower than average yields combined with the weather smade harvest start about 10-12 days earlier than usual. All in all, it was a nearly perfect growing season for Sauvignon Blanc. In addition to weather, this is a vintage in which intensive work with our growers over recent years has paid dividends in the bottle. The Geyser Peak style of Sauvignon Blanc demands that vines be cultivated differently from convention, and we’ve put a tremendous amount of work into educating our grower family on these practices. For example, leaving leaf cover over the grapes is counter-intuitive to many grape growers, but critical to retaining the bright fruit flavors and crisp, natural acidity that are the hallmarks of Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc. Winemaker Notes: Three practices define Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc. First, we source grapes from cool-climate, primarily coastal areas throughout California, from as far south as Monterey and as far north as Lake County. Second, we deliberately pick some lots of grapes earlier than is conventional, in order to capture their freshness, crisp acidity, and a classic Sauvignon Blanc grassiness. Third, each lot of grapes is vinified separately, through cool fermentation and cold storage in stainless steel, to retain fruit characters. In 2007, we expanded our use of several new yeast strains which can encourage the development of thiols, the passion-fruit aromas and flavors that we love. The dozens of small lots brought in together show a full range of flavors, from ripe tropical fruit to fresh citrus to grassy herbaceousness. After extensive trial blending, the final wine balances the very best of the lots together. --Mick Schroeter

RD$877