2011 Selene Sauvignon Blanc Hyde Vineyard Carneros

Vineyard: Hyde Vineyards is located in the Carneros Region of Napa between Highway 12 and Old Sonoma Road. This is a relatively warm part of the Carneros, since it's further from the cooling influences of fog and wind from nearby San Francisco Bay. It also has good elevation above sea level, making the soils lighter in clay with better drainage. Selene has been sourcing grapes for this wine from Hyde Vineyards since 1992.

Vintage: Wow, this is the 20th vintage of Selene Sauvignon Blanc from Hyde Vineyards! Needless to say time goes by fast and it seems like just yesterday, but that's another story. We had a good amount of rainfall in the late winter along with a tad over 2 inches in both May and June. Add an unusually comfortable summer for humans; a little cooler than the grapevines like. It all adds up to the second year in a row that we pick in October. In general the more extended the season is for Sauvignon Blanc, the better, given no sugar spikes from hot weather and no rain during harvest, which was certainly the case with this 2011.Fermentation: Grapes were whole-cluster pressed and the juice transferred into both new French oak (20%) and stainless steel barrels (80%) for fermentation. We repeated the "sequential fermentation" technique we experimented with last year, this time on the whole lot. Basically, we get the fermentation started with one yeast and finish with another, optimizing flavor, complexity, and texture. The wine remained in barrel on primary lees until late February when it was racked and bottled.

Tasting Notes: Intense and distinctive, aromatics include pineapple, green mango, guava, white nectarine, honeydew melon, lemon curd, orange liquor, white pepper, sandalwood, rose water, and beeswax. Savory and mouthwatering, with a concentrated, long finish.