JB Neufeld Sauvignon Blanc

Tasting notes & discussion 46

Typically $20/bottle from JB Neufeld
Vintage 2025 from Yakima Valley
Available for AL; AZ; AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; ID; IL; IN; IA; KS; KY; LA; ME; MD; MA; MI; MN; MO; MT; NE; NV; NH; NJ; NM; NY; NC; ND; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VT; VA; WA; WV; WI; WY
Sold by participating winery or licensee, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About JB Neufeld: “Nestled in the heart of Washington State’s beautiful Yakima Valley, JB Neufeld has an unwavering commitment to tradition and sustainability, here we focus on small-lot, handcrafted wines that reflect the region’s unique terrior. JB Neufeld is made up of winemaker Justin Neufeld, and his wife Brooke.”

Stall. Settle. Begin.

TASTING NOTES: “On the nose is a pretty bouquet of lime, lemon and floral character. Behind it are subtle tropical fruit notes combined with a nice mineral/wet rock character. The palate is light, bright and crisp with a pleasant plumpness on the attack that doesn’t overwhelm the palate but provides some weight and texture.” (AbV 12.30%, pH 3.4, TA 5.8 g/L)

VARIETALS: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

BARRELS: 3 months in stainless steel tank

PAIRS WITH: N/A

THAT REMINDS ME OF: Stabulation.

No, not a stabbing — stabulation, the winemaking technique where juice is chilled down near freezing and left to settle before fermentation. It sounds like something you’d find in a medieval bestiary. “The stabulation of the noble grape.” It also sounds like it could describe what happens to livestock in a barn, which is basically what it means etymologically: stabulum in Latin is a stall, a stable, a place where animals stand around doing nothing for a while. So the grape juice goes into its little stall, wrapped in cold, and just… hangs out. Settles its thoughts. Let the gross lees fall where they may.

The stabulation here lasted three weeks, which puts it in the company of a remarkable number of culturally significant three-week periods. Napoleon’s Hundred Days started with roughly three weeks of marching. The Beatles recorded Please Please Me in one day, but they’d been rehearsing the songs for — okay, that one doesn’t hold up. The point is three weeks is a specific, deliberate amount of time. Long enough to mean something. Short enough to feel intentional rather than forgotten.

I find I’m charmed by any winemaking step that is essentially “wait, but cold.” There’s a patience baked into it (chilled into it?) that runs counter to how most of modern life operates. Cool the juice. Rack off the lees. Then we begin. The wine didn’t actually do anything during stabulation. That’s kind of the whole point.

Who's buying this?

How are you buying your bottles?

What's your relationship with deliberate waiting?

I'm genuinely good at it — patience feels like a skill I've built

I'm genuinely good at it — patience feels like a skill I've built
I can wait when I have to, but I'm checking the clock the whole time

I can wait when I have to, but I'm checking the clock the whole time
I fill every gap immediately; stillness makes me anxious

I fill every gap immediately; stillness makes me anxious
I've learned to treat it as part of the process, not dead time

I've learned to treat it as part of the process, not dead time
Tell us your version →

Tell us your version →

21 votes