Tasting Notes

Aromas here are reflective of the warmer vintage, with honeyed beeswax, Gewürztraminer-like spicy florals, ripe stone fruit, and the suggestion of fresh-cut straw. Once in the mouth, these characters are balanced with lifted, delicate, and complex notions of melon and peach tea. The beautiful arc is grounded by an undercurrent of fleshy roundness and warmth creating a lovely mid-palate retention that resolves into a clean uplifting finish. This complex and mercurial wine will easily carry you from aperitif through an entire meal seamlessly.

Vineyard and Production Notes

Alpha Mare White was born out of our love of White Bordeaux. Those wines with their tantalizing mix of freshness and complexity, their subtle minerality, and full but clean texture have served as our inspiration. We source our fruit from the heart of the Coombsville AVA, in a vineyard named after the Greek goddess, Hestia. Protected by a copse of trees on one side and wild chaparral on the other, this small vineyard is located in a low-lying swale of gravelly well- drained soils.

Keeping the crop load very low and harvesting before the hottest days of summer is key to protecting this wine’s freshness. We harvest at night by hand and then press the grapes in a long slow press cycle. The juice is transferred into a combination of new and used French oak barrels for fermentation. Working closely with our favorite Bordelaise cooperage we created a unique barrel specifically designed to support the fruit and mouth feel of this very special wine. Our 2017 Alpha Mare White is aged “sur lie” 22 months developing exceptional complexity and stability. The wine has freshness, depth and grace. This complex wine has been built to last.