2018 Sauvignon Blanc I

Brought up largely in second- and third-use 500-liter barrels, this bottling is as usual conspicuously marked by its wood exposure, as well as glossier and lusher than its “Sauvignon Blanc II” counterpart. Sweet aromatic intimations of vanilla and acacia (though I believe the cooperage is all of oak) mingle with scents of grapefruit marmalade and gooseberry preserves. The lightly jam-like fruit presence is appropriate to the wine’s inner-mouth richness, and fortunately there is a welcome influx of juiciness, though that doesn’t entirely overcome a faintly drying note from oak on the finish.