Cakebread Cellars

This wine is a perfect example of why winemakers hardly ever need to use new oak. While a small portion (13 percent) of this Sauvignon Blanc was barrel fermented, the French barrels were once used. After stainless steel tank fermentation for the balance of the wine, 75 percent of the total saw four months in 2-year-old wood, while the remainder never saw a barrel at all.

What it all adds up to is a wine of elegance and lushness from only the kiss of wood. But more important, and because of the restrained oak regimen, winemaker Julianne Laks has coaxed Sauvignon Blanc typicity – hints of grassiness and sweet pear. The Semillon adds the acidity, while the Sauvignon Musque – a SB clone with Muscat-like qualities – lends the wine its aromatics. The listed alcohol is 14.1 percent and the wine is extremely well balanced, though it’s a bit young right now. I expect it should age nicely for six to eight years.

The grapes came primarily from Cakebread’s estate vineyards in Rutherford, as well as from vineyards in St. Helena and Calistoga to the north, the latter of which is the Maple Lane Vineyard. That vineyard is tucked against the hills just south of Calistoga. The vines are planted on the valley floor and grow into well drained, fertile soils.

Reviewed December 21, 2006 by Alan Goldfarb.