2014 ‘Naissance’ Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley - 538 Wine Notes

The Galerie collection began with Naissance (French for “birth” or “beginning”), a seamless blend of Old World and New crafted from Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. This flagship wine layers the citrus and mineral notes of the Loire Valley with the peach and tropical fruit characteristics of Napa Valley. Careful vineyard selection and farming preserve fresh acidity and some of the variety’s grassy characteristics, creating a complex, modern wine with international appeal. 

Galerie wines are portraits of place, showcasing the dramatically different features of Northern California’s most prized winegrowing appellations. Napa Valley is well known for its abundant sunshine and rich, fruit-forward wines. Knights Valley at the base of Mt. St. Helena to the north has even cooler temperatures, and volcanic soils that produce slower-ripening fruit with distinctive minerality. Spring Mountain is perched high on the steeply terraced slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains along the western edge of Napa Valley, where marine layer influence brings cooler days and warmer nights than on the valley floor.

The 2015 Naissance has aromas of honeydew, lemon zest, yellow flowers, and green apple. Full, crisp mouth-feel and intense minerality with a grassy, citrus finish. Beautifully balanced and elegant, this is made by one of the winemakers at Cardinale and inspired by the Loire Valley. It offers equal parts fruit, weight and minerality, tasting of fresh-squeezed lime and wet stone, with a layering of viscous vanilla. Medium-sized in terms of texture, it dances on the palate, refreshing throughout.