2021 Harrow Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley 750 ml

The Russian River Valley is best known for Pinot and Chard. But its secret weapon is Sauvignon Blanc.

The region’s long growing season is ideal for the grape, as the cool climate allows wines to hold on to snap and verve while eliminating greenness and developing lush flavors. It’s why some of California’s most storied SBs, like Merry Edwards and Rochioli, come from the region.

But because of the premium price for Russian River real estate, the best bottles are always expensive.

That’s normally the case for Harrow Cellars, who would be happy to sell you a bottle of their 2021 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc out of their beautiful tasting room for a pretty penny. But we got a special deal on this bottling, made by California winemaking royalty. It’s driven by notes of white peaches, Meyer lemon, and apples, with an underlying layer of lemongrass and starfruit—pure dynamite. 

There aren’t many American winemakers who worked their first harvest while they were in elementary school, but Angelina Mondavi has been bound for glory since she was a little girl.

It started with a job helping out the enologist at Charles Krug, her family’s historic winery, and led to her working 30+ harvests before her 38th birthday. Now she’s an in-demand consultant in Napa and Sonoma, making wine for a half-dozen wineries and selling bottles for well over $200.

Harrow Cellars is one of her personal projects. Housed in the former Ravenswood winery space on Gehricke Road, it’s devoted to a vision of Sonoma wine that’s rooted in the best examples from the past. Inspired by classic Sauvignon Blanc from Rochioli, Dutton Ranch, and Merry Edwards, she sourced this from top sites in the heart of the Russian River Valley, and then fermented and aged it to preserve its brightness and vibrant fruit.