2018 Ashes & Diamonds ‘No.4 Blanc’, Napa Valley

Ashes and Diamonds is planted in Oak Knoll District in the Napa Valley of California. The white wines pray an homage to the wines of Domaine de Chevalier in Bordeaux, an equal blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The Semillon comes from some of the oldest Semillon in the Napa Valley, planted in 1962 in Yountville AVA (American Viticultural Area). It is all dry-grown and extremely low-yielding. The founder and owner Khaledi describes the fruit as “simply majestic”. To this, Steve Matthiasson blends mature-vine Sauvignon from the Ashes & Diamonds vineyard in Napa’s Oak Knoll district. Both of these vineyards are planted in cool, foggy mountains sprayed with afternoons sea breezes rolling in from San Pablo Bay, planted in alluvial soils derived from volcanic and marine sediments washed down from the Mayacamas Mountains into gravelly clay loams. Freshness and acidity in these wines is certainly a feature.  Why do we like it? Winemaker Matthiasson naturally co-ferments each parcel in barrel where wines spend 10 months on fine lees in French oak, but only 25% is new. It is then released after 3 years in bottle to allow for oak integration and some development to go through, adding to a very lovely complexity in each of their wines. Sauvignon Blanc tends to have pungent aromas of vegetal and herbs character, but with the ageing and oak it takes a more rounded, and textural approach. The #4 stands for the fourth release of this wine that is fully ripe and full bodied, yet with a zesty acidity, and incredibly age worthy. Drink now or in 3 or 4 years, make sure you decant it, serve at 12-13 degrees with a beautiful white fleshed fish or a lobster. It is certainly worthy of.   Grape           Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc Country        USA                             Region          Napa Valley                             Vintage         2018