2006 Osseus Sauvignon Blanc
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| Vineyard: | 54% Westerly Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley 46 % Valley View Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley |
| Composition: | 100% Sauvignon Blanc |
| Harvested: | September 18-28, 2006 |
| Brix: | 22.2O ° |
| Cooperage: | Westerly: Fermented & Aged in Stainless Steel Tank. Valley View: Barrel Fermented in neutral French oak. Aged 6 months sur lies, with bâtonnage. |
| Bottled: | March 2, 2007 |
| Case Production: | 525 cases |
| Acidity: | 0.720 g/100mL |
| pH: | 3.05 |
Winemaker’s Comments:
I can’t think of another recent harvest that put winemaker’s patience to the test! Late rains, and cool weather pushed back picking dates by approximately four weeks.
This year I was able to get fruit from Valley View Vineyard, a beautiful location for Sauvignon Blanc (among other varietals) west of Westerly Vineyard. Both vineyards are located in the Santa Ynez Valley. Since it’s a tad cooler there, the Valley View tends to ripen slightly later than the Westerly.
The two vineyards mapped out different winemaking paths, and it was exciting to see them develop individually and result in a well-balanced product. After harvesting, the Westerly fruit was de-stemmed into one ton fermentation bins and sat in a cold room for 24 hours. This cold skin contact time allows for flavor extraction, as there is an abundance of flavor locked in the Sauvignon Blanc skins. After pressing was completed, the juice was cold settled for 24 hours. The wine was 100% tank fermented, completely blocking malolactic fermentation. The wine was then racked off the fermentation solids and into a stainless steel tank where it was aged.
The Valley View fruit did not see skin contact and went straight to press. The juice was cold settled for 24 hrs, after which it was racked to neutral French oak barrels where it was fermented (again malolactic fermentation was blocked). The wine was aged sûr lie with bâtonnage for 6 months.
The 2006 Osseus Sauvignon Blanc is true to the varietal. It exhibits intense aromatics of grapefruit, lemon zest, and green apple, among a cornucopia of other citrus tones. It’s high in acid with refreshing mouth feel. Similar to my 2004 Sauvignon Blanc, the body will develop texture with time.