Napa Cellars Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2013

Napa Cellars has emerged as one of the top purveyors of Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Bold and beautiful, yet supremely elegant, the 2013 Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc embodies a thrilling cornucopia of flavors. Melon, fig, quince, tropical fruit, and fresh citrus flavors gush from the glass. Actually, it is hard to imagine a better California Sauvignon Blanc than this offering from Napa Cellars. Rich in fruit but still crisp and dry, the 2013 Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc is a joy to drink from the first sip to the last. No heavy oak tones or flabby overripe fruit mar this Sauvignon Blanc’s seamless performance. Moreover, Napa Cellars’ 2013 Sauvignon Blanc finishes with a long burst of flavor and crisp acidity that assure its further development. For optimal drinking we suggest putting a good chill on this wine (about 40º F) and then allowing it to open as you sip or guzzle as the case may be. However, as much as we wanted to sip and savor this wine, we found it so appealing that it disappeared too quickly down our throats, and sadly we hadn’t put another bottle on ice, so consider yourself forewarned.

Although “summer and Sauvignon Blanc were made for one another” and Sauvignon Blanc is often considered to be “the quintessential wine of summer,” recent tastes in food along with the advent of fuller, richer, more complex styles of Sauvignon Blanc have rendered the noble Sauvignon Blanc a wine for all seasons. With this in mind, the 2013 Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc cuts a handsome figure with all kinds of salads, seafood, poultry, pork, smoked meats, and many of the worlds most exquisite cheeses. Smoked crab cakes, roasted oysters, tuna steaks with piquant fruit salsas, and ham (especially prosciutto) all offer complementary accompaniments to Napa Cellars’ outstanding 2013 Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh honeydew melon wrapped in prosciutto and a Panini, with melted chèvre, fig preserve, and prosciutto are two of our favorite appetizer choices with this Sauvignon Blanc. Homemade red pepper hummus provides another tasty accompaniment, as do all kinds of traditional Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes. Noodles, served with chicken, shrimp, tofu or vegetables, all provide a fine palette on which to pair the Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc. Yet, this flavorful wine will rise to spicier specialties such as Thai Grao Prao (Stir fried fresh chili, onion, green bean, pepper, and hot basil) and Ma Kua (Stir fried eggplant, with salted soya bean and sweet basil), so no need to be bashful with the Napa Cellars or your menu. And for many of us, we will just want to drink the 2013 Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc by itself, so be sure to have a second bottle on ice. Enjoy!