2023 Whitehall Lane - Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley (750ml)

Whitehall Lane is a family-owned winery in Napa Valley's historic Rutherford appellation, run by three generations of the Leonardini family. The estate farms its vineyards across St. Helena, Oak Knoll, Rutherford, Sonoma Valley, and the Petaluma Gap using sustainable and organic practices, and has built a reputation as one of Rutherford's finest producers of Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2023 bottling is a blend of majority Sauvignon Blanc with a supporting portion of Sémillon. The vintage itself has been called one for the ages, with roughly forty inches of winter and spring rain pulling California out of drought and setting the vines up for an even, healthy crop. Winemaking is notably hands-on: a portion of the fruit spent time on the skins before pressing to build mid-palate weight, while some juice underwent cold stabilization before fermentation to enhance texture and aromatics. The bulk of the wine was cool-fermented in stainless steel, with a smaller portion fermented in French oak and aged on the lees with regular stirring.

The result is a wine with aromas of fresh Bartlett pear, white flowers, Golden Delicious apple, crushed limestone, and lime zest, with a touch of brioche. Flavors of fresh melon, stewed pear, baked apple crumble, nectarine, and toasted walnut carry through to a long, subtly toasty finish.

Pair with seafood, summer appetizers, or a simple goat cheese salad.