Flavor Descriptors In our special To Kalon vineyard site, Sauvignon Blanc expresses its purity of fruit, showcasing zesty tangerine with crisp Asian pear, while weaving in wafts of wild fennel and thyme and a mouthwatering minerality. Its piece de resistance, however, is the rich textural sensation that comes from vines spreading deep roots in a place in which it shares a special kinship: the To Kalon Vineyard.

Vintage

The 2014 Fumé Blanc Reserve continues the tradition of making world-class Sauvignon Blanc from our historic To Kalon Vineyard. 2014 started with worrisome, drought-like conditions, and many feared a parched, dry spring as in 2013. Refreshingly, spring rains came in February and into March providing water for the soils and filling reservoirs. The wine growing season will most be remembered for the August 24th earthquake that occurred just as harvest was commencing in the Napa Valley. The vines were not affected, and harvest finished early, bringing in beautiful, healthy fruit. Grape picking took place from August 26th through September 1st.

Vineyards

This wine is a true expression of our To Kalon Vineyard’s historic Robert’s Block, our renamed T Block first planted in 1960. When Robert Mondavi chose the To Kalon Vineyard as the home for his new winery in 1966 he remarked: “It was a vineyard with a distinguished history and a magical nature. Ideal soils, sunlight, and rain—to my eye, the vineyard was a treasure.” Situated on prime benchland in west Oakville, the low fertility, well-drained soils combined with optimal sun exposure yield rich, complex flavors and peak fruit maturity. Over half of the Sauvignon Blanc was harvested from Robert’s Block. These dry-farmed, head-trained, cane-pruned vines offer purity of varietal expression, great concentration, and depth of flavor. A small amount of fruit was selected from our equally historic I-block, for its key contribution of minerality, length, and elegance.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand harvested in the cool of the morning and gently pressed as whole clusters, minimizing skin contact to retain freshness and vibrancy. Almost all of the juice was barrel fermented in French oak, 42% new, for a slow, cool fermentation. The wine was then aged on its lees (sûr lie) for 9 months and was hand-stirred (bâtonnage) twice weekly, for a creamy texture and to enhance the volume and length. A small amount of Sémillon was added giving the final blend a richer mouthfeel and further complexity. We used two cement egg-shaped fermentation vessels to explore the purity of fruit that comes from this production method and added this wine to the final blend. The wine was bottled in July of 2015.