Lewis Cellars is a family-owned and operated Napa Valley winery. It was founded in 1992 by former Indy Car driver Randy Lewis and his wife Debbie. Their son, Dennis, now works at the winery as well. The wines are made by Brian Mox, formerly of Pine Ridge Winery, Laird and Etude. The winery is not open for visits, even by appointment.

Lewis Cellars’ offerings included Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and a few blends. The grapes are sourced from vineyards around Napa Valley and Russian River Valley. In general, the wines are Napan in style with bold, rich fruit and ample weight. However, they are well-structured rather than over-the-top in opulent. Total production is about 9,000 cases and the wines often sell out quickly.

Lewis Cellars has just released their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, but you can still find some of the 2009 in the market and it’s worth trying. The nose starts with a fetching mix of white peach and lime accented by touches of vanilla and oak. After a few minutes in the glass, dried lemon grass and delicate floral notes emerge. The palate is is zesty. Mouthwatering lime is met by white peach and just a bit of tannin, bringing peach skin texture. The finish is long and clean.

The 2009 Lewis Cellars Sauvignon Blanc drinks very well on it’s own, but will pair well with slightly oily fish and fried seafood. The acidity is high enough to take on fresh tomatoes and salads of fruit or herb. Drink now through 2012. Highly Recommended.

2009 Lewis Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
Rating: Highly Recommended

Drink: Now through 2012
Release Date: August, 2010
Production: 275 cases

Closure: Cork
Retail Price: $37

Winemaker: Brian Mox
Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Origin: Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley

Vinification: Fermented in stainless steel and French oak, no malolactic fermentation

Alcohol: 14.5%

The wine above was purchased for review.

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Frostwatch Vineyard and Winery is a relatively new label. It is owned and managed by Brett Raven and Diane Kleinecke. Their wines are based predominantly on fruit from the Frostwatch estate vineyard located in the Bennett Valley AVA. Originally planted in the mid-90’s, the 15-acre vineyard includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Zinfandel. Brett Raven makes the wines at Vinify, a Santa Rosa wine collective used by many other excellent labels including Baker Lane, Bjornstad, Bevan Cellars, Sojourn, Westerhold Family and Wren Hop.

The Bennett Valley AVA was established in December, 2003. It sits between three mountains in Sonoma County: Bennett Mountain to the north, Sonoma Mountain to the southwest and Taylor Mountain to the northwest. The Petaluma Wind Gap allows ocean breezes and morning fog to cool Bennett Valley’s vineyards throughout the growing season. That, and the altitude of the vineyards (mostly 400 - 1100 feet), makes Bennett Valley a cooler climate AVA than most nearby growing areas. For example, Bennett Valley averages 7% lower in degree day summation than Carneros. Rocky and well-drained, the Frostwatch Vineyard lies on the west side of Bennett Valley Road, due east of Matanzas Creek Reservoir. Other producers of highly-respected wines from Bennett Valley include Dry Stack Vineyards, Jemrose Wines and Westerhold Family.

I first tasted the 2010 Frostwatch Kismet at a Sonoma County meet-up held at Vinoteca, the soon-to-open tasting room of Vinify. The aromas, and then the flavors, of Kismet brought back fond memories of tasting wine in the Margaret River region of Australia. One of the specialities there is blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The same type of blend is used in white Bordeaux, but the cooler climate of Margaret River produces wines with more green fruit and grassy flavors, less peach. The Aussies also use much less oak on their blends than do the top Bordeaux producers. I bought four bottles of the Kismet.

The 2010 Frostwatch Kismet is pale lemon-green with aromas of green apple, gooseberry, lemon-lime, white flowers, grass and a touch of sweet, woody spice. The palate is bone-dry with medium-plus body. There is zesty freshness and bold flavors of lime, grass, gooseberry, limestone and green apple skin. The finish is clean and tingly. Some aromatics and flavors in this wine may remind you of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but the Kismet is riper, richer and much less pungent. Drink it with fish and chips, crab cakes or mild Thai curry with coconut. Drink now through 2013. Recommended/Highly Recommended.

2010 Frostwatch Kismet Sauvlgnon Blanc Semillon

Rating: Recommended

Drink: Now through 2013
Retail Price: $24
Winemaker: Brett Raven
Blend: 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon
Origin: Sonoma County: Sauvignon Blanc from Frostwatch Vineyard in Bennett Valley, Semillon from Marino Vineyard in Russian River

Fermentation: whole cluster press; native yeasts; 90% stainless steel, 10% once-used French oak
Bottling date: March 31, 2011

Alcohol: 14.3%

Closure: Cork
Production: 200 cases

This wine was purchased for review.

You may also be interested in this article: 6 Wines You Need to Try from the Vinify Cooperative Tasting

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I have reviewed the 2006 Robert Mondavi Winery Sauvignon Blanc I-Block. It is an excellent wine, as is the 2007 vintage. However, these I-Block wines are made from very old, low-yield vineyards. As a result, not much of the wine is made and the price is $75 per bottle. While that is in keeping with top white Bordeaux from Graves, it’s high relative to the vast majority of Sauvignon Blanc from California. Fortunately, just as there are some great bargains to be had on white Bordeaux that are “second wines” (ie. not the chateau’s flagship product), the same is true with the Sauvignon Blanc, aka Fume Blanc, from Robert Mondavi Winery.

I recently had the opportunity to try the 2007 I-Block, the 2008 Robert Mondavi Winery Fume Blanc Reserve ($40) and the 2008 Robert Mondavi Winery Fume Blanc Napa Valley in succession. While there are clear differences in quality and sophistication, there is also a very substantial familial resemblance between them. Tasting them together, you can easily see the progression from the lowest priced wine to the highest, but also that they have been made with the same sensibility. The entry-level wine has not been created for a different palate or to express something radically different from the higher end wines.

I included the 2008 Mondavi Fume Blanc Napa Valley in a recently blind tasting flight of sub-$25 California Sauvignon Blanc. In the end, it was far and away the best wine of the group. When the wines were revealed, my tasting partner for the day, himself a wine professional/restaurant wine buyer, was surprised. “Wow! I would totally drink that,” he said. He didn’t intend to damn with faint praise. Rather, he was surprised because he, like many perhaps, tends to think of the Robert Mondavi wines as being either very high-end (To Kalon, I-Block, etc.) or low-end (Woodbridge). It is easy to overlook the (often delicious) middle.

The 2008 RMW Fume Blanc Napa Valley clearly evokes white Bordeaux with its lush and peachy Sauvignon Blanc, body-boosting Semillon and sur-lie aging plus accents provided by French oak. [The majority of the wine is barrel-fermented and it was all French-oak aged.] The nose is fresh, inviting and full of ripe white peach with a bit of vanilla, white flowers and spice. The palate dry with the weight of whole milk and just a bit of texture from the oak. The flavors are of fresh yellow peach and persist into a long, refreshing finish. Drink now through 2011. Highly Recommended.

2008 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc Napa Valley
Rating: Highly Recommended
Drink: Now through 2011

Retail Price: $20
Blend: 92% Sauvignon Blanc, 8% Semillon
Aging: 4 months sur lie in 100% French oak, 6% new

Alcohol: 13.9%

Closure: Cork

This wine was received as a review sample but tasted blind.

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The To Kalon Vineyard in Napa Valley’s Oakville District was established shortly after the end of the American Civil War. H.W. Crabb, an Ohio native who had come west to mine for gold but switched to farming after 6 months, bought land there in 1868 and by the mid-1870’s was producing wine from the vineyard he called To Kalon. To Kalon means “the highest beauty” in Greek. [While neoclassicism was winding down somewhat on the east coast and in western Europe by then, references to ancient Greece in names and designs would have lent an air of prestige in the wilds of California. The San Francisco Mint, built in the Greek Revival architectural style, was completed in 1874.]

Robert Mondavi Winery now owns the majority of the To Kalon vineyard, having started buying portions of it in 1966. [89 acres of the vineyard had been purchased in 1940 by Beaulieu Vineyards who sold it to Beckstoffer Vineyards in 1993.] Over the years, Mondavi has expanded its holdings more or less contiguous to To Kalon to 550 acres, 250 of which Robert Mondavi Winery says were part of Crabb’s 359 acres.

The vineyard is focused on Bordeaux varietals with Syrah being the sole exception. Located at the eastern base of the Mayacamas Mountains, the top level of soil is fertile but drains well which encourages a deep root system. Above ground, the vines are kept cool through the morning by fog but are able to get direct sun most of the day. They are, however, shielded from the harshest afternoon sun by the mountains.

The oldest productive vines in the vineyard date back to 1945. These vines survived Phylloxera outbreaks because they are on St. George rootstock which is quite resistant to that particular infestation. Surprisingly, among the 65 year old vines are Sauvignon Blanc. Located in what is referred to as the I Block, it is said to be the oldest active Sauvignon Blanc vineyard in North America. Of course, yield declines as vines get very old. For the 2006 vintage, the I Block yield averaged just 0.9 tons per acre.

Photo of Robert Mondavi To Kalon Vineyard I Block Sauvignon Blanc by Tom Johnson of Louisville Juice

I-Block isn’t the only Sauvignon Blanc vines at Robert Mondavi Winery which are a bit long in the root. There are some 11 acres in the T-Block, also within To Kalon, that were planted in 1964. How are they different? Director of Winemaking, Genevieve Janssens has told me that I Block yields floral wines with great finesse and elegance, whereas T Block is bold, yet austere and rich in minerality. Due to the strong personality of the T Block, it’s juice is blended with others for the To Kalon Fumé Blanc Reserve rather than being used as a single-vineyard wine.

The I-Block is no shrinking violet though. It is pretty, but not reticent. Despite an abnormally cool growing season in 2006, the grapes achieved excellent ripeness due to the winery’s focus on quality over convenience. The small vineyard, roughly 10 acres, was harvested over the course of a week with only those rows that had achieved the desired level of maturity being picked on any given day. There are no unripe flavors in the wine and it’s alcohol is a heady 14.8%.

The 2006 I Block Sauvignon Blanc is bright gold with aromas ranging from white flowers and orange zest to spice and gentle tropical fruit. It feels rich and silky in the mouth, almost creamy. The flavors are unique when compared to typical Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. There’s a light nutty characteristic, some delicate lemony essence and the fruit is not boisterous. The finish is quite long and the wine also changes in lovely and interesting ways in one's glass over time.

This is not an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc, but it is delicious and a glass of history to boot. It's a wine that will reward aging and, if you do age it, a quick decanting. Given the price and ageability of the wine, I’d love to see it under screwcap. While some might argue that would undermine the high-end image of the wine, to me it’s a protection of the winery’s investments and that of their customers. I’ve had the opportunity to taste three bottles recently, one of which was corked. To me, losing any wine from this low-yielding vineyard due to cork taint is dispiriting.

The I-Block Sauvignon Blanc will go very well with light salads and seafood dishes. There’s sufficient zip in the wine to hold up to restrained citrus dressings or sauces. However, my preference would be to savor its complexity by drinking it on its own (and not overly cold). Drink now through 2016. Highly Recommended.

2006 Robert Mondavi Winery Sauvignon Blanc I-Block, To Kalon Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley
Rating: Highly Recommended
Drink: Now through 2016
Retail Price: $75, available only from the winery (online or in person)
Fermentation: 100% in 60-gallon French oak barrels, 33% new, no malolactic fermentation

Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Aging: 9 months in French Oak
Alcohol: 14.8%
Closure: Cork

This wine was purchased for review. It was not tasted blind.

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Follow NorCalWine on Twitter for breaking wine news, information on events and more. Become a fan and join the NorCal Wine community on Facebook. Also check outour comprehensive Northern California winery listings. They are very useful for planning a tasting trip or just getting in touch with a winery.

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved.