2010 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Napa Valley native and winemaker, Tony Coltrin, brings more than 35 years of winemaking experience to Oberon, with expertise in sourcing quality fruit from the best vineyards in the valley and
understanding the region’s uniqueness for growing classic Bordeaux varieties. His long-standing relationships with local growers ensure a consistency in the quality of the grapes grown in premier Napa Valley sub-appellations for Oberon.

 

Vintage

The 2010 vintage in Napa Valley was late, cool, and long. A very wet winter caused bud break and the start to the growing season to be delayed from average by a couple of weeks. The cool weather continued throughout the summer, with foggy mornings, clear afternoons, and cool evenings. Harvest of the Sauvignon Blanc grapes did not begin until the middle of September, several weeks behind usual. This required a lot of patience in the vineyards, waiting for the optimal time to pick, but allowed
for a slow and steady ripening of the berries to maximize the grapes’ concentration and deepen their complexity. 

 

Vineyards

The Oberon Sauvignon Blanc is distinctive in style because its fruit is sourced from both our warmer Oso Vineyard (54%), located in Pope Valley, and the cooler Milliken Vineyard in the southern part of the valley. “With each vintage, we want Oberon Sauvignon Blanc to show bright natural acidity and fresh flavors. We also want an underlying richness and complexity that balances the wine and adds fullness to the mouth-feel” says winemaker Tony Coltrin. The 2010 vintage is the first to also include a large percentage of Sauvignon Musqué clone grown in the Oso Vineyard, which adds another layer of richness and expressive aromatics to the blend.

 

Winemaking

Tony Coltrin set out to maximize fruit expression in our 2010 Oberon Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley. “We used both cold tank fermentation and barrel fermentation to maximize the overall fruit expression. The cold-fermentation in tank helps us maintain the pureness of fruit and aromatics, and barrel fermentation adds a subtle creaminess and length.”

 

Wine Facts

Varietals - 79% Sauvignon Blanc &
21% Sauvignon Blanc Musqué
Appellation - Napa Valley
Fermentation -
34.3% barrel fermented, 65.7% cold tank fermented
Wine Stats -
Alcohol 13.5%
pH - 3.28
TA - 5.61 g/l
RS - 0.31 g/l (dry)

Click here to download 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Vintage Note

Click here to download 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Vintage Note

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