Cervantes Family Vineyards, Palomino Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, California, 2022

Overview of the Wine
Cervantes Family Vineyards is a 1,100 Acre Ranch in the far eastern reaches of Napa Valley last frontier, marks the highest profile project where winemaker Andy Erickson (Favia, Dalla Valle, Mayacamas, Arietta, and formerly of Screaming Eagle, Harlan and Staglin) and Xavier Cervantes Family are growing a text book Napa Valley hill side wines. Where wild deer and bears still roam, giving the feeling of an uncharted feral frontier to these elegant and polish wines.

We wanted to express the full range of our soils with the unique elegance of a white wine, which is lighter but, at the same time, has complexity, richness, character, and the relentless wilderness of our land. Similar to Cervantes Red Wines, it is always adventurous, demanding the best quality and experience. We like to feel whole as we complete the range of grapes that we can grow in our terroirs. Our white wine has an elegant style, is totally dry, has good acidity, and is fresh like cold air. It is complex, well-structured, bright with a round texture. and has a neutral barrel with a sense or place.

We have decided to name our Sauvignon Blanc "Palomino" to finalize that unique character of our land. It is the beautiful golden color of a loyal horse. Nowadays, Palominos from California are the most popular and well-known for being highly spirited, having excellent temperament and unique personality. Overall, they are incredibly curious, alert, gentle, calm, versatile, social, and friendly. And this is exactly what we wanted to share with you... Enjoy!

Grape / Blend
Sauvignon Blanc

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Pope Valley, the home of Cervantes Ranch, Is known as the source for vibrant and delicious Sauvignon blanc fruit. Typically the first harvested in Napa Valley every year, these grapes produce a white wine that is full of electric energy. Clone one Sauvignon Blanc is the classic expression of this varietal in Napa Valley. Our vines, twenty-five years old, on a gentle, gravelly slope, deliver a style of wine that has a full range of aromas and flavors. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed, fermented in barrel and aged on the lees for seven months, giving the wine breadth, texture, and purity. By restricting malolactic fermentation we are able to capture the freshness and focus of the vineyard. And, by limiting the new French oak to only 25% of the barrels, we can allow the fruit to come forward, while still framing the wine with a solid structure and adding length.

This 2022 vintage, our inaugural white wine for Cervantes, shows notes of lemon peel, grapefruit, thyme, and subtle baking spices. The acidity excites the palate, then expands and lingers for minutes. It is an easy wine-delicious with food-but also a wine of substance and contemplation. This young wine is completely appealing right now and will continue to unfold and reveal more complexities as it ages in bottles for many years.

94+ Points - Wine Independant
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Palomino from Cervantes opens with alluring notes of white peaches, fresh grapefruit, and lemon drops, giving way to nuances of coriander seed, beeswax, elderflower, and lime blossoms. The medium to full-bodied palate is gracefully played, delivering layers of citrus, stone fruit, and floral notes with a seamless backbone and wonderfully satiny texture, finishing with great length. Delicious right now, this should age gracefully over the next 5 to 7-years+ 

Product size: 750ml