2021 Fennel and Stone Sauvignon Blanc Yorkville Highlands

Vinification and Site

We are thrilled to announce the second vintage of our estate Sauvignon Blanc.  All of our wines have a unique journey that starts with a vision of how we want the final outcome to be perceived in the glass.  The journey of this wine starts with cuttings taken from Rooster Ranch; Emma’s Uncle’s and Aunt’s vineyard planted on the bench lands of Clear Lake.  This site was chosen for its proven pedigree and its specialized clone of Sauvignon Blanc; Sauvignon Musqué.  Sauvignon Musqué is the beautiful marriage of the fresh citrus notes expected of Sauvignon Blanc fused with all of the inherent floral notes of Muscat. Sauvignon Musqué is known for its tendency to grow a significant amount of foliage, therefore one can often find it planted in gravelly soils along rivers or creeks where the drainage is impeccable.  At our estate, sitting at nearly 2,000 feet elevation, we hand selected a small amount of the vineyard that had an abnormal amount of stone to control the vigor of the new planting.  Just over 100 vines make up this expression of our estate Sauvignon Musqué.  Respecting the biome and diversity of our 164 acre ranch, we are committed to low input, organic farming.  While our commitment continues to preserve the ecology of our ranch, it often results in very low yields.  Our second release of our estate 2021 Yorkville Highlands Sauvignon Musqué yielded under 1 ton of grapes which translated to about 23 cases of wine!  The combination of rocky soils and organic farming restricted vegetative and berry growth so that we were able to harvest at just around 21.5 brix, resulting in about 12.7% alcohol.  We would have never been able to pick this varietal at such a low Brix if it were not for the combination of the unique clone, site, and farming practices.  This incredible expression of Sauvignon Musqué was fermented in a one year old French Natalie oak barrel to capture all of the citrus and floral notes then aged sur lie for four months in the barrel to provide a subtle creaminess on the finish.  The name Fennel and Stone for our Sauvignon Musqué was inspired from stories Jesse’s father often tells of the honey bees that kiss the fennel blossoms that grow on the perimeter of the vineyard and then those same honey bees are often found in the grape clusters during bloom time in spring.  Stone, for the volcanic white and brown stones that compete with the roots of the vine.