100% whole-cluster, skin-fermented Sauvignon Blanc from Farina on Sonoma Mountain

               This an especially delightful vintage of the Prince! The wine is so light in color that it looks like a Chablis-- not a skin-fermented Sauvignon. We are surprised because we did nothing differently this year-- the winemaking was the same as it has been nearly every year since 2010: 100% whole cluster, harvested about two weeks after LSB; no destemming, with the fruit crushed by foot when it arrives at the winery, fermentation in wooden puncheons for 3 weeks, with a little maceration post-fermentation. The wine is light only in color-- it is still utterly powerful in both aromatics and in the mouth. This is perhaps the most graceful vintage of the Prince. It is utterly distinctive; as powerful as any vintage of this wine, and as elegant as the very best. The tannins are subtle but present; the acidity is good; the wine is long and complex. But elegance and grace are what characterize it most. We have seen something similar in 1MN--as if it were a vintage characteristic that somehow affected vineyards as distant as Lodi and the Sonoma Coast. So interesting. We think that you will love the wine, but we also feel sure that if you know the wine, you will look twice at the glass as you first pour it.