2024 Le Petit Coquerel Sauvignon Blanc Walnut Wash Vineyard Calistoga 750 ml

Coquerel Family Wine Estates was founded in 2005, when Clay and Brenda Cockerell—high school sweethearts from Abilene, Texas who had spent decades traveling through Europe’s great wine regions—purchased a vineyard on Tubbs Lane at the northern edge of Calistoga. The estate they acquired was already planted to Sauvignon Blanc, which suited them and, as it turned out, suited the land.

The Walnut Wash Vineyard sits where the valley narrows and the Mayacamas range closes in from the west, casting afternoon shade that moderates temperatures and slows ripening in the final weeks before harvest. The deep clay soils beneath hold moisture through the summer, drawing the vines down rather than out, concentrating flavor in each cluster.

The 2024 vintage played to the vineyard’s strengths. A wet winter—Calistoga received more than 30% above-average rainfall—loaded the soils with moisture and set the vines up for a large, healthy crop, a welcome rebound after the lean yields of 2023. Summer ran warm, with an extended heat season that pushed ripening steadily forward, and Barbe harvested the Sauvignon Blanc on August 21st, pulling in fruit loaded with grapefruit and guava—exactly what she was looking for.

In the winery, the clusters were destemmed and pressed gently to preserve freshness, then fermented in stainless steel. The wine spent six months on the lees with frequent stirring, a technique Barbe learned in Pessac-Léognan and one that builds mid-palate texture and weight without sacrificing the variety’s natural lift. The result is a Sauvignon Blanc that doesn’t fit neatly into the California mold—rounder and more structured than you might expect, with the kind of persistence on the finish that makes you reach for another glass before the first one is finished.

In the glass, expect bright aromas of Meyer lemon, guava, and pineapple alongside white florals and green apple. The palate is crisp and lively, with a round mid-palate and a long finish of pink grapefruit and citrus spice. This is a wine built for the table—halibut, shellfish, anything with a squeeze of lemon—but it is also the kind of bottle that disappears on a warm evening with nothing more than good company.