Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc: More than an Afterthought?

Lineup of highfliers: Grgich Hills Estate Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Essence 2015 (95 points), Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Howell Mountain Estate 2014 (94 points) and Lail Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Georgia 2014 (95 points)

Tasting Napa Valley sauvignon blanc, a variety that can tend to overripeness and high alcohol in hot climates, is not as straightforward as you might think — especially when you’re tasting literally entrenched in mainly red-grape territory! Yet this was precisely the situation in which I found myself earlier in the fall as I tasted just over 80 examples of this somehow much-loved yet often-maligned varietal for JamesSuckling.com in St. Helena, Napa Valley.

Driving around tasting in Napa, from one winery to the next, is quite illustrative in that winemakers are at times loath to present the “other sauvignon”. You even have to make a special request occasionally before a bottle or two is pulled out. 

This isn’t because the wines made from the variety aren’t interesting, far from it. Indeed, the results of our tasting would prove otherwise as almost 80% scored 90 points or more, while a select group of gems even hit and in some cases surpassed the 95-point mark. No, the main reason you don’t see more Napa sauvignon blanc taking the wine world by storm is because there simply isn’t very much of it.

“It is true that sauvignon blanc seems to have become an afterthought in the Napa Valley,” explains Ivo Jeramaz, the winemaker of Grgich Hills Estate. “This is primarily due to the prestige of cabernet and also because cabernet is bringing five times more money per ton. Therefore, Napa Valley growers have no choice but to plant cabernet.”

Grgich Hills Estate is one of our top-scoring producers in this report with its uniquely smoky and spice-infused Essence label, yet like a number of others, it’s a winery that can actually trace a fairly long-lasting affinity for sauvignon blanc in the valley. It was Mike Grgich himself, then the winemaker for Robert Mondavi, who in the late ‘60s made the first so-called Fumé Blanc — arguably the first serious style of Napa sauvignon blanc ever produced up to that point and aged in barrel. It also comes from biodynamically grown grapes.

Yet more important to Napa sauvignon blanc than Mondavi (and his undeniable marketing genius) are the natural features and microclimates with which the valley is endowed. The long, linear wine region with its hillside vineyards that jut out on either side, not to mention the increasing maritime influence as you move from north to south, makes for a broad canvas to paint with. In fact, temperature differences can be upwards of 15 °C in some cases between appellations.

Indeed, the best wines of our tasting run from steely, flinty expressions of the variety that wouldn’t be out of place in France’s Loire, to fuller, grassier expressions that also incorporate trademark elements of stone fruit and probably fall somewhere in between Bordeaux and New Zealand sav blanc.

Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2016 (94 points)

“I like to think that here we have such a dynamic terroir and climate, that one can make what they want,” says Aron Weinkauf, the winemaker of Spottswoode. “We can ripen our SB, so stylistically one could pick anywhere along the spectrum of ripeness and present many different styles.”

Even so, there can be no denying that the best sauvignon blancs are those made from cooler areas. Spottswoode, as an example, even goes as far as splitting the appellation on their label and sourcing fruit both from Sonoma and Napa. We rated their sauvignon blanc 94 points.

Top areas where the variety flourishes are usually either more coastal or more mountainous. These include Carneros, Atlas Peak (a good bet here is Hill Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Atlas Peak 2015, 94 points), Yountville (look out for Lail Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Georgia 2014, 95 points) and Howell Mountain (Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Howell Mountain Estate 2014, 94 points). 

It’s hard to generalize though as a lot has more to do with the winemaker’s preferred house style. The 2015 and 2016 vintages, for instance, which were what we mainly tasted, were both on the earlier and hotter side with some vine stress from drought (particularly the ‘16). Nevertheless, while some 2015s showed the dreaded tinned fruit character, the best producers clearly rose to the occasion with careful canopy management, meticulous selection during short picking windows and overall trying not to overdo things in the winery.

Napa sauvignon blanc is not going suddenly to explode as the new kid on the block to contend with the likes of New Zealand. Sheer economics dictate that it remain more of a growing force that just rumbles along — in most cases with prices that don’t become stratospheric. Yet there does seem to be a sustained effort by a core group of producers to make headway in quality and image.

As Weinkauf puts it: “I think it’s popularity will hold or grow, but don’t see massive amounts of SB being planted, so I think it will continue to grow and evolve slowly and organically as it has. I do think that consumers are enjoying more Napa SB. It is a very dynamic and aromatic varietal, and every year it seems a little more popular.” — Jack Suckling, Tasting Editor