Lancaster Estate Sauvignon Blanc Alexander Valley Samantha's 2003

Winemaker's Notes:

2007 Lancaster Estate, Samantha's Sauvignon Blanc Winemaker's Notes Our 2007 Sauvignon Blanc honors our daughter, Samantha. This wine exhibits baked, ripe pineapple and sweet grapefruit aromas, with compllex, full flavors of honeydew melon and citrus characters. Aged 7 months in 90% stainless steel and 10% new French oak barrels, the wine was bottled unfiltered, to retain purity of expression. 600 cases produced. Vineyard Source Consistent with our Estate's focus on classic Bordeaux varietals, this wine is a bright blend of two Sauvignon Blanc sub-types: clone 1 and Musque' clone. We chose a historic location to produce our first white wine. In 1841, the Mexican government granted what is now Alexander Valley to a sea captain, Henry Delano Fitch, who in turn hired pioneer Cyrus Alexander-the valley's namesake-to manage his new property. Fitch gave Alexander his own land in 1847, near present-day Healdsburg, and the pioneer is believed to have established Zinfandel vineyards in short order. This turned out to be a visionary undertaking, as the winegrowing conditions in Alexander Valley closely resemble the French regions of Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley. Today, Cyrus' great grandson, Truman Clark, continues to farm the original family stead, growing Sauvignon Blanc of great complexity and quality. We contracted with Truman to farm and harvest a small vineyard block from the stead, creating "Samantha's Sauvignon Blanc." 2007 Vintage Mild winter conditions and a dry spring led to early budbreak. Summer was mild with a hot August, pushing up the sugars and leading to an early harvest on white varieties. Yields on Sauvignon Blanc were small and in pristine condition with balanced varietal character. Composition & Analysis 100% Sauvignon Blanc Titratable acidity 0.79 g/100mL pH 3.25 Alcohol, by volume 13.8% PDF (176K)