Saddleback Cellars
2014 Lake County Red Hills Albarino
Albariño •Fortress Vineyard
California: Lake County: Red Hills
Mission Briefing
Mister 100
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Saddleback is back! This time with their newest Albariño, the fresh, bright, tasty and delightful Saddleback Cellars 2014 Lake County Red Hills Albarino.
This wine was made by Nils Venge, America’s first ever 100 point winemaker. Nils has outdone himself this time around. This wine is one of the finest whites we’ve sampled from this Wine Spies favorite winery.
Lively and fresh on the nose with aromas of white peach, lychee, lime, acacia, green apple, straw, subtle almond and a very subtle hint of white spice.
Bright and very fresh on the palate, with flavors of green apple, white peach, nectarine, lime leaf, lime flower, dried apricot, subtle white spice and a hint of flinty mineral.
We don’t showcase many wines from the Lake County region, really fantastic ones seem to be difficult to come by. Today’s wine, though, is truly the best Lake County white that our panel of agents has ever tasted.
Enjoy this crisp, refreshing white with a variety of foods, from elegant seafood dishes to backyard BBQ, to fresh fruits and hard cheeses. This bright, juicy white is very food friendly.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Springy and bouncy in the glass when swirled. Light golden yellow hues with perfectly even coloration from core to edge. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | White peach, lychee, lime, acacia, green apple, straw, subtle almond and a very subtle hint of white spice. |
| Taste: | Green apple, white peach, nectarine, lime leaf, lime flower, dried apricot, subtle white spice and a hint of flinty mineral. |
| Finish: | Bright, elegant and seemingly endless, with fruit flavors that persist for a very long time - before succumbing to a slight dryness that spreads gradually across the palate. |
| Pairing: | Enjoy this wine with classic Spanish tapas. We’ll try ours with grilled octopus, spicy fish, shellfish and grilled or roasted vegetables. |
What the Winery Says
- Winemaker
- Nils Venge
- Varietal
- Albarino
- Vintage
- 2014
- Appellation
- Lake County, Red Hills
- Abv
- 14.2%
- pH
- 3.42
- Brix
- 23.2
- TA
- 7 g/L
- RS
- 2 g/L
- Harvest date
- September 12th, 2014
- Barrels
- Neutral French oak
- Bottling date
- March 18th, 2015
- Release date
- May 1, 2015
- Production
- 124 cases