2005 Vineyard 29 Sauvignon Blanc

Perhaps the biggest surprise here is the absolutely drop-dead quality of the Sauvignon Blanc. I don’t want to get readers too excited, as there are only 122 cases, but it is a dead-ringer for a top white Pessac Leognan. Kept on its lees for most of the time it spends in barrel after fermentation (no malo-lactic), the wine shows notes of honeysuckle, lemon grass, a touch of sweet toast, and gorgeous fruit, opulence, and length with very good underlying acidity. The 2005 is the best they have made. The impressive talents of viticulturalist David Abreu and winemaker/consultant Philippe Melka have turned Vineyard 29, owned by Chuck and Anne McMinn, into a bright new star of Napa. There are essentially two levels of wine here, the estate wines, which come from the Aida Vineyard and Vineyard 29, and of course their negociant wines, which are represented by the 3,000 or so cases of their Napa Cabernet Sauvignon called Cru. Previously recommended: 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard 29 Estate (95), 2004 Cru Proprietary Red (90). Tel. (707) 963-9292; Fax (707) 963-7848