Dragonette Cellars, Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Barbara, California, 2023

Overview of the Wine
Brothers John and Steve Dragonette and close friend Brandon Sparks-Gillis founded Dragonette Cellars in 2005 after having worked together at a renowned wine shop in Los Angeles. Their shared passion for great wine brought them to wild, windy and remote northern Santa Barbara County where they spent the next several years seeking out extraordinary, cool-climate vineyards and dedicating themselves to careful, patient, minimalist winemaking.

As vignerons, they have committed themselves, above all else, to the mindful farming of precise blocks in exceptional vineyards for low yields and high quality and to the shepherding of these grapes into wines of purity, complexity and balance. Given the remarkable climatic and soil diversity in Santa Barbara County, Dragonette Cellars produces small lots of Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah of interest and distinction.

Grape / Blend
Sauvignon Blanc: 40% Grassini, 37% Vogelzang, 18% Grimm’s Bluff, and 5% Two Wolves

Origin
Santa Barbara, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The great Happy Canyon blend has returned. The 2022 sold out long ago and we have been anxiously awaiting this wine in the Tasting Room and around town at top restaurants. A product of all four Sauvignon Blanc vineyards, this wine shows the true excellence of the Happy Canyon appellation; beautiful ripeness and dramatic fruit flavors held aloft by fabulous acidity and minerality and only a hint of the herbaceousness for which Sauvignon Blanc is (in)famous. 

As always, top notch, per acre farming is the key here, as we prune and shoot thin for drastically lower yields than in the case of the conventional SB farming protocols. Concentration is dramatically more intense with this style of farming. For the Happy Canyon, we then choose lots that have a more energetic, taut, and lively character, along with the depth and concentration that these fabulous vineyards provide. The wine ages for a total of 7 months on the lees, before it is blended, cold stabilized with a light fining (plant and soil-based fining agents) and gently cross-flow filtered before bottling. The wine pairs with a tremendous variety of foods with weight and interest lifted by great structure and acidity. 

92 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
Crushed pineapple, lemon zest, chalky minerality, and honeysuckle notes all emerge from the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Happy Canyon, a medium-bodied, vibrant, balanced Sauvignon Blanc that would be a terrific introduction to the style and quality of this estate. It's balanced and drinking beautifully today yet will keep for a decade if well stored.

Product size: 750ml