Nose
A Meyer lemon nose and hints of lemon grass.
Palate
Flavors of sweet lemon curd a touch of vanilla are livened by the slightest hint of uncut jalapeno. This medium bodied white has an inherent creaminess from neutral oak barrels and splash of acid that excites.
Growing Conditions
We source this Paso Robles Sauvignon Blanc from a vineyard that sits high above the city of Paso Robles in the Estrella district. Situated on a south-facing slope with a fairly step aspect allows us to manipulate the vines to take full advantage of the summer days while providing good shading for the clusters.
Wind gusts are common at this elevation from both the north and the south, providing a much-needed cool-down on warm days. This vintage was the second crop for these young vines.
The 2022 growing season was slightly warmer than average. While generally mild in spring with few frost events, the summer months were mild with unusually long heat events lasting five to seven days. Veraison was fairly mild and berries quickly matured. Early September saw very warm temperatures for an extended period. This rapidly increased brix and grapes were harvested about a week earlier than normal.
Bottling
February 2023
Winemaking
After harvesting, grapes for the Austin Hope Sauvignon Blanc were whole cluster pressed into stainless steel tanks for settling. The juice was then racked off its heavy lees into barrels and tanks for fermentation 52% of the juice was barrel fermented in a mix of new, one to two time used and neutral, while the other 48% was fermented in stainless steel. The barrel fermented portion saw 5 months of sur-lie aging and during the middle three months, the barrels were stirred monthly to add to the creamy nature of the wine. After the final blend was assembled in January 2023, the wine was gently crossflow filtered before bottling.
Food Pairing
Enjoy with fresh oysters or your next sushi dinner.
