2008 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
35 Years of Napa Valley Roots
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
Napa Valley’s 2008 growing season was dramatic, but resulted in excellent quality fruit with great flavor concentration. A very dry spring caused buds to emerge early and, thus, experience an extended frost in late March and early April, which significantly cut the crop. The early vine development was slowed down by a cool summer of consistent temperatures, and harvest began only slightly ahead of normal. A heat spell in late August sped up ripening suddenly, but cool fall temperatures that followed lengthened the harvest. This second consecutive dry growing season in the Napa Valley and the reduced crops resulted in vines yielding berries that showed great expression of their vineyards and rich, concentrated flavors.
Vineyards
The Oberon Sauvignon Blanc is distinctive in style because its fruit is sourced from both our warmer OsoVineyard, 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. “For the 2008 vintage, fruit at the early stages of ripeness with high acidity and crisp, citrus character was blended with fruit that ripened more fully in warmer climates to layer in tropical fruit flavors of melon and mango.”
Winemaking
WinemakingTony Coltrin set out to maximize fruit expression in our 2008 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 - 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation - Napa Valley
Fermentation -
34.3% barrel fermented,
65.7% cold tank fermented
Wine Stats - Alcohol 13.5%
pH - 3.33
TA - 5.91 g/l
RS - 0.48 g/l (dry)
Click here to download 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Vintage Note
Click here to download 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Vintage Note