Stagiaire - 'Thirst Trap' - Sauvignon Blanc - Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino, CA - 2022

Infused Sauvignon Blanc clusters in direct-pressed juice from a magical steep south facing slope in Yorkville Highlands I normally tell this story or give this explanation verbally and in person where I can use my hands. I’m always talking with my hands and usually they are superfluous but in this situation I kinda need them to differentiate where things stand in relation to one another lol. But sometimes a winemaker has a wine that stands out from their others. Sometimes multiple winemakers have a wine that stands out from the rest of their lineup. Sometimes all of those standout wines come from the same vineyard. That to me is the mark of a special site. And so it is that I sought out the secrets behind some standout bottlings and found this vineyard. Only Bordeaux varieties are planted at this Yorkville Highlands site. This Sauvignon was planted in 1982 on shale terraces at 1100ft and has become maybe my favorite Sauvignon Blanc source. The vineyard was in the process of being sold to new owners, and I have the very fine skill of being just politely and persistently annoying enough to get a bone thrown to me. In what is becoming a common Stagiaire practice, the fermentation is made up of 50% whole clusters with the balance being direct-pressed juice pumped on top and left to infuse for ~2.5 weeks. After pressing the wines rest in neutral oak for a year. The fruit was slightly beat up by the sun, so I macerated for a shorter period than the vintage before. Where the 2021 was voluptuous and generous with tropical fruit, the 2022 is much more focused and taught with less perceptible tannin. Candied citrus, key lime pie, cake icing. This wine is really fun to drink over hours or days while seeing different fruit character come in and out of focus over time. nothing added or removed. no sulfur. not contract or custom crush.

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‘STAGIAIRE’ The French word for apprentice and what the winemaker I worked for in Jura called me when other local vigneron asked who the hell the guy speaking really bad French was. The name encapsulates humility, impermanence, and the pursuit of knowledge. I work with vineyards that are organic at a minimum, actively seeking thoughtfull and regenerative practices instead of recipe farming. Most importantly I want to work with good people that are trying to farm with nature instead of against it. Starting in 2020 I am farming a few parcels of my own. If we have good grapes, why add anything to them in the cellar?