2020 Aperture Sauvignon Blanc Bennett Valley Sonoma County

The custom barrel-fermentation, adapted from winemaker Jesse Katz’s experience at Haut Brion in Bordeaux, creates a distinct complexity and rich weight on the palate for the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, that is balanced by the brightly lifted acidity and an enveloping bouquet of tropical fruits and fresh citrus. The precise blend of sémillon adds a hint of minerality, rich lemon notes, and a beautifully polished texture.
Dry Stack Vineyard is ideally suited with marine clay loam soils composed of small to medium stones that provide the vines with optimal drainage.
98% Sauvignon Blanc & 2% Sémillon
Aged 6 Months in 1/3 New French Oak, 1/3 Once Used French Oak & 1/3 Neutral French Oak

This fruit was hand-harvested and brought in on the cool morning of September 27th. We lightly whole cluster pressed the fruit to a stainless steel tank where we let the juice chill at 50˚F for two days to settle. On the third day, we cleaned and racked it to a smaller tank leaving the heavy sediment behind. Three days later, the fermentation started naturally and we kept the fermentation below 56˚F until half the sugar was consumed. At 10 brix we transferred the young wine to barrels where it spent the remaining time on lees until just before bottling. We used 1/3 New French oak, 1/3 once used and the remaining neutral French oak for the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc. Once it was transferred to barrel, the wine was placed in our cold barrel room to keep the fermentation cool and slow, maintaining freshness and bright aromatics. As the wine slowly fermented for an additional 3 weeks in barrel, we topped and stirred each barrel weekly. The wine stayed in those same barrels for 6 months. At that point, we stopped malolactic fermentation in order to keep more of the fruit’s natural, bright acidity. — WINEMAKER JESSE KATZ