2021 Eden Rift Vineyards Valliant Sauvignon Blanc Griva Vineyard Arroyo Seco 750 ml

Wine & Spirits magazines named Eden Rift one of their Top 100 Wineries of 2022—alongside names like Ornellaia, Bollinger, Ridge, and Walter Scott. Among those not surprised by the winery’s ascension into the world’s elite? Our members, who made our first offer from Eden Rift a legitimate sensation, as the scores of “notify me” requests will attest.

That early and enthusiastic support earned us this allocation of Eden Rift’s single-vineyard Valliant Sauvignon Blanc from the remarkable Griva Vineyard.

A stone-strewn site that stresses vines, Griva produces low yields of exceptionally flavorful berries, and Eden Rift’s bottling is made entirely from the rare Sauvignon Musqué clone of the grape. Musqué is best known for giving Merry Edward’s iconic SB its je ne sais quoi, expressed here with plenty of green mango, white floral notes, and a basket of peaches and citrus peel. 

This Sauvignon Blanc hails from one of the most spectacular sites in the central coast: Arroyo Seco’s Griva Vineyard. First planted in the 1960s, the site is covered in “Greenfield Potatoes,” the local term for the smooth granite stones that cover the vineyard, making farming difficult but producing exceptional grapes. It sits in a pocket that’s packed with fog and sees strong winds off the Pacific Ocean, which creates long hang-times that are perfect for producing ripe-yet-vibrant Sauvignon Blanc clusters.

That means that Cory has ideal fruit to work with when it arrives at the winery—and he maximizes its potential. Whole-cluster pressing creates juice with exceptionally pure flavors, and he ferments that with its native yeasts to build complexity and honor the terroir of the vineyard. Fermentation in neutral barrels and stainless-steel tanks builds texture and preserves freshness.