Proprietor’s Blog 4/21: Our Newest Release
Hello lovely winos, last weekend our family celebrated Passover and my 26th birthday. It was an absolute blast: we got to spend time together, enjoy a lovely bread-less meal, and drink a lot of great wine. But enough about me, let’s talk about the most exciting event of last weekend: our new release.
On Friday we opened up sales for our 2021 Sauvignon Blanc from our estate and our 2021 Rosé from Paso Robles. I have to say, I’m in such ecstasy, because these wines are off the charts good. I wanted to share a little backstory on each one, so you can feel closer to them when you drink them.
The Sauvignon Blanc
Back in 2016 we were so excited to finally harvest some of the fruit in our Miracle Vineyard, planted in 2013. But I was bummed, because I knew there was still no white wine in the near future. As those vines began to flourish, I kept thinking: we need to grow some white.
If you know the Greenbaums, you know we’re a big New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc family, the kind that buys a case of Kim Crawford at Costco, and yes, I still stand by it. So we knew we wanted to plant Sauvignon Blanc.
You might say the Malibu Coast climate is nothing like New Zealand, and that’s true, but that doesn’t mean Sauvignon Blanc won’t grow well here. So we planted the clone commonly found in Bordeaux, New Zealand, and much of Santa Barbara (clone 1, or FPS01, for the grape nerds like me) in March of 2018, and patiently waited for our vines to mature.
During that time, we created our Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc, which became an instant fan favorite. We still love this wine and continue to produce it, with its crisp, clean texture, bright acidity, and beautiful green apple and lemon flavors. It’s the perfect wine for summer.
We got a little hooked on that style, so when 2021 came around, I thought to myself: I don’t want our two Sauvignon Blancs to compete, they need to be different. That’s when I thought back to Robert Mondavi himself. If you’ve ever had a Bordeaux Blanc, a Sancerre, or a Fumé Blanc, you know Sauvignon Blanc was originally aged in oak barrels, not steel. Steel is a less expensive way to produce the wine, giving it a more linear style, and it’s delicious, but so is a kiss of oak.
So I told our winemakers I wanted to produce a Fumé style Sauvignon Blanc. My goal was for it to taste as good as Domaine Didier Dagueneau’s Silex, a $150 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Pouilly-Fumé, a wine I think is worth every dime. That’s what I wanted to bring to the table.
I watched the winemaking like a hawk, knowing that if it came out even a little too lees-y or a little off on acidity, it wouldn’t be good. To my delight, it’s absolutely amazing: the acidity is beautiful, the fruit is spectacularly tropical on the nose, and it’s dry, dry, dry on the palate, with a nice silky texture from the neutral barrel, a hint of lees stirring, and a long, flavorful finish. It tastes exactly like a warm-climate Bordeaux Blanc, done well, should taste. Truly spectacular.
If that doesn’t sell you, this might: the wine is about to go into Baltaire, a steakhouse in Los Angeles known for its Michelin-level wine list. We only made 25 cases, and seven are already gone.
The Rosé
Now onto my mom’s rosé. Back in 2021, we were offered the chance to purchase a block of Grenache Gris from Paso Robles. After a few years of experimenting with rosé from our own property, we realized we weren’t able to produce as much red Syrah as we’d thought, because we were producing so much rosé instead. (If you haven’t bought our 2020 Rosé, we still have some, and I’m not sure when we’ll produce that Malibu Coast Rosé from our Syrah again, so grab it while you can.)
We decided to purchase fruit from a relatively coastal vineyard in Paso Robles, and that turned out to be the best decision ever. When the fruit came in, it had this gorgeous lilac color, with bunches so massive you needed two hands to hold just one.
This rosé had such complexity and uniqueness that it veered exactly the direction I was hoping for: a lighter, more Provençal style, bright, with simple fruit, lots of salinity and minerality, almost like rose water. And with this wine, we made just that.
I named it after my mom, because she loves a beautiful light rosé. She oozes French Riviera lifestyle, and since this wine is like rose water, she’s our flower queen: you can see her floral design on the label. From time to time you may hear me call it our Wildflower Rosé, because my mom is the wildflower. Grab a bottle and read the back of the label to learn more, it’s truly phenomenal.
If you haven’t grabbed a bottle yet, or you’re not in the club and missed the shipment, we only made 25 cases of each, and they’re going fast. These wines carry a lot of family devotion, and a lot of hands making sure they’re just right for you. They’re perfect for Mother’s Day, for spring, and for the summer ahead. Try them and let me know what you think. I can’t wait to see your photos and hear your thoughts on our new babies.
Cheers,
Amanda