Description
True to the style of sauvignon blanc we’ve honed over the past 40 years, our 2014 rendition boasts beautifully fresh, fragrant aromas of honeydew melon, grapefruit and guava, with a slight floral note. Full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with a silky texture, its vibrant melon, citrus and gooseberry flavors are perfectly balanced, leading to a long, succulent finish boasting bright citrus and mineral tones. Enjoy Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2014 over the next 3-5 years with your favorite salad, seafood, poultry and vegetarian dishes.
Our 2014 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of 87% sauvignon blanc, 7% sèmillon and 6% sauvignon musqué (an especially aromatic clone of sauvignon blanc) grown in the same vineyards we’ve used for years, including our estate ranches in Carneros, southeastern Napa, Rutherford and Calistoga. The superb fruit from these sites enables us to produce a rich, full-bodied and complex sauvignon blanc that is simultaneously fresh, crisp and zesty.
2014 was another in a series of excellent vintages in northern California. The season began with a warm, dry spring, which led to early budbreak and trouble-free vine flowering and grape set. Summer was consistently mild with few heat spikes, which allowed our sauvignon blanc grapes to ripen uniformly and develop impressively concentrated flavors. Drought conditions reduced cluster counts and crop and berry size, which further intensified varietal character. Given the early start to the season, our sauvignon blanc harvest began two weeks earlier than normal, with the grapes picked between August 1st and September 13th.
We hand harvest our sauvignon blanc grapes during the cool nighttime hours to fully capture their fresh, pure flavors and bright acidity. Whole-cluster-pressing of the fruit maximizes varietal intensity while minimizing the extraction of astringent compounds from the skins. In 2014, we fermented 88% of the juice in stainless steel tanks and 12% in older French oak barrels, which produced a rich, vibrant sauvignon blanc with great depth of flavor. Seventy percent of the wine aged for five months in neutral French oak barrels to enhance texture and varietal character, while the remaining 30% aged in stainless steel tanks.
