2017 Twomey Cellars Napa/Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 750 ml

Petrus, Yquem, Dagueneau—They All Have a Hand in This

What do Château Petrus, Sauternes icon Château d’Yquem, and the legendary Didier Dagueneau of Sancerre all have in common? The answer lies in a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc—specifically the 2017 Twomey Cellars Sauvignon Blanc from Napa and Sonoma, made by the family of Silver Oak. At $25, this is as close to First Growth Bordeaux Blanc as California comes. Taking a brief pause from bottling last week, winemaker Erin Miller talked me through the impressive effort behind her stunning white.

A complete bottle of Twomey’s Sauvignon Blanc marries Napa richness with Sonoma’s precision and cut. It all begins with pristine clusters of select clones of Sauvignon Blanc, culled from four unique, estate-grown vineyards, all treated to a First Growth grape growing script.

Erin, along with winery namesake Velma Twomey’s great-grandson Matt Duncan, led me on a short walk through their Oakville estate vineyard, which includes three clones, most notably, Clone 26, which “is commonly referred to as a Chateau d’Yquem clone,” Matt told me.

“It’s so expressive,” Miller said, “and captures the alluvial, gravelly element that lends a savory, succulent characteristic to the wine, like guava, sweet fruit, and floral notes, with grit underneath.” We jumped in Matt’s car, and headed north to Calistoga.

Twomey’s estate vines surrounding their winery in Calistoga include seven planted acres of Sauvignon Blanc, with vine rows running perpendicular to Silverado Trail and Highway 29, “so the sun kisses both sides of the vines,” explained Miller. “This site is warmer, and gives us that tropical aspect to the wine with underlying structure.” Structure and balance are near and dear to Miller, who previously worked for Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr at Evening Land, where making wines, “in pursuit of balance,” was par for the course.  

With a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in hand, we took in a brief bout of sunshine in Twomey’s courtyard, and talked of the Sonoma sites. The third vineyard is in Healdsburg, two miles from the Russian River, now home to the wine’s Sauvignon Gris component, an innovation encouraged by Twomey’s Merlot consultant, famed Petrus winemaker, Jean-Claude Berrouet. The new plantings capture the deep loamy, gravel soils tempering vine vigor and contributing to the luscious, medium-to-full-bodied mouthfeel in the finished wine.

The grand prize, their fourth site, lies in Sonoma, between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, called the Merino Vineyard, which is a long, narrow, 21-acre property. Two classic clones (Clone 1 and Sauvignon Musque) are rooted in hardpan clay lend a strong bite, calling to mind juicy, vibrant, and aromatic candied ginger notes.

Once harvested, Sauvignon Blanc grapes are whole-cluster pressed, fermented, aged individually as small-batch lots. Some of the lots are aged in unique large-format barrels, 600-liter demi-muids, which have thicker staves than normal-sized barrels, meaning much less oxygen transfer, and hence, a fresher wine. Twomey uses the same cooper who made Didier Dagueneau’s barrels—this is the late, legendary producer of one of the world’s greatest, most complex Sauvignon Blanc wines from Sancerre, and for Miller, the gold-standard and her stylistic inspiration.

Each vineyard block is fermented separately, and in thirds: some in stainless steel, wood, and stainless steel drums.

“I ferment in these different vessels because I’m designing the dimension and the shape of the palate and the feel of the wine,” said Miller. “I get mid-palate breadth from the barrels, length from the steel barrels, and height from the steel tanks.” After fermentation, and 3-5 months aging on the fine lees, the wine is racked off and bottled.  

With input from Petrus’s Berrouet, Y’quem clones, and Dagueneau’s cooper, it’s no wonder this is a HOT Sauvignon Blanc. Michelin 3-Star temple Bo Innovation in Hong Kong pours the 2017 Twomey Sauvignon Blanc by the glass. Michelin 3-Star Single Thread in Healdsburg has it too.

I think it’s high time you get to enjoy your own Michelin-3-Star, First Growth-inspired, world-class Sauvignon Blanc right at home, and at $25 this is priced to fly to your door by the case. Our strong relationship with the Duncan family means you get a crack at any one of 100 cases—going to the fastest among you.