2006 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage
Napa Valley's 2006 grape growing season was nearly textbook, marked by consistently outstanding, high-quality, abundant crops. Bloom and set-on-the-vine occurred a few weeks later than usual because of cool and wet weather that lasted well into Spring, but by June the vines were back on track. In mid-July, a record-setting heat wave lasted about ten days, but due to the earlier delays, the damage to the grapes was nearly non-existent. In fact, most growers agree that the heat helped where they should be in a "typical" growing. Some growers feared that if the heat-wave continued into August the harvest schedule would be extremely tight, but the weather returned to normal and the grapes were able to ripen in ideal conditions until harvest began in early September.
Winemaking
Winemakers, Tony Coltrin & Rob Mondavi, set out to maximize fruit expression in our 2006 Oberon Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley. "With each vintage, we want Oberon Sauvignon Blanc to show bright acidity and fresh flavors. We also want an underlying richness that completes and balances the wine for a rounder mouth-feel" says Tony. "For the 2006 vintage, we picked some of the fruit at the early stages of ripeness when the acidity was high and the flavors were leaning toward green apple and tart kiwi. To layer in flavors of melon and pear, we allowed some fruit to more fully ripen. We used both cold and barrel fermentation to maximize the overall fruit expression. Cold-fermentation helped us maintain natural fruit flavors and aromatics, and barrel fermentation added a subtle creaminess and length."
Wine Facts
Varietals: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation: Napa Valley
Fermentation: 27.49% barrel fermented; 72.51% cold tank fermented
Alcohol: 13.5%
pH: 3.32
TA: 7.5 g/l
RS: 0.03 g/l (dry)