One of my favorite California Sauvignon Blanc wines is made by Chateau Montelena.
Typically very vibrant, I like the slight bit of night flowers and citrus, and it is different enough from other Sauvignon blancs that I always figured maybe it had a percent or two of Viognier. I really enjoy it.
That was that until a recent taste of Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, coincidentally tasted at the same table as a Chateau Montelena and thought they were both pretty good. I might have even guessed same vineyard or regionâŠbut one is Napa and one is Sonoma.
So, Viognier in either of them? Nope!
Maybe they had one in ten barrels allowed to go through malolactic/or something? (Perhaps in a distant way like LâaprĂšs-midi sauvignon blanc for creamy/oily/slightly expansive mouthfeel, but not the same fruit impression.) So, perhaps a touch of semillon in common? Nope!
So, me and Claude tried to figure it out. I give all credit to Claude here: they both use acacia wood barrels. I never thought of that before. Live and slowly learn!
So, now a quest to try others with this in common.
On the list: Quivara (Iâve had it before, but not drinking with a critical eye for this,) Foxen, Koehler, and Cass show up, so I will look for those.
Does anybody know other âacacia barrelâ wines they like?
We use a fair bit, as Al mentioned, including the ones he me tioned and some of the Blanc de Noir wines as well. But there are a decent number of Oregon white wines produced in acacia.
Evening Land uses acacia for Chardonnay I believe.
if you have the time, I would love to hear some of the details that go into the decision to use acacia and in what percentages. Any general thoughts or anecdotes!
Please keep us updated. Iâm not a frequent California Sauvignon Blanc drinker, but Iâve had Quivra, and really enjoyed it. I remember also noticing that there was something a bit unusual about it and that it might have been a blend. Maybe it was acacia! Let Hank own what you find out!
I dabbled in making Willamette Valley Syrah for a few years and at one point I had to take a bit of Viognier to get the block I was looking for. Acacia was apparently a traditional option for Condrieu. I picked up a 500L acacia puncheon in 2011 and used it for the Viognier, Nd in 2012 I bought my first two 820L barrels, one oak and one acacia. I loved both but did not love the Viognier and passed it after 2012. In 2014 I used the 820L acacia puncheon for Pinot Gris and it was sensational. Aromatic varieties really seem to love elevage in acacia. Weâve used acacia ever since, once youâre past the first year or two (Viognier aligned with the flavor of new acacia, but Pinot Gris and Riesling do not) itâs a fantastic option.
We did co-ferment Viognier with the Syrah, but that was 5-10% of the total ferment. If we had 4-5 tons of Syrah, I need 800-1000lbs of Viognier, and we were getting 4-5 tons of Viognier.
