I was happy upon opening the box to see a Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc! Perfect for these early summer days in NY. Sat in the fridge overnight. I’m not familiar with the vintner. The bottle has a simple label with a profile image of its namesake, without a capsule.
Light and bright color, with very thin legs that cling longingly to the sides of the glass. The initial nose is light lemon, green apple and a hint of slightly unripe honeydew. I can’t wait to taste it, and I set it down to warm up a bit.
Tasting without accompaniment. The aroma has dissipated to hints more of lime and melon, yet I am not expecting a fruit bomb, which opens up a bunch of possibilities. Upon first taste, the acidity hits immediately with some tartness up front. I swirled and took a healthy swig next. Some acidity still upfront but fruit emerges mid-palate and softens it up considerably. The tartness and acidity are meshing nicely. No grass or flint, a nice example of Northern California SB.
Before a fresh pour, I took another taste and the green fruit is more evident mid-palate.
Another pour, and there’s a tangy finish in addition to the characteristics tasted earlier. The alcohol is a factor as the chill wears off. This SB has character and separates itself from other CA Sauvignon Blancs. Definitely a cut above! I’m sure it will match well with light grilled food as well as Asian cuisine. I think it will be a fine addition to a summer white rotation. I just checked the CS price and it is well worth the 6 bottle price and a steal at the the case price!
Hi again! I failed to introduce myself, where are my manners??!
I’m Nick, partner and Winemaker for Leghorn Wine Company. We’re a very small operation based in Petaluma CA in the Sonoma Coast and what’s called the Petaluma Gap, which is a wind tunnel that runs through the heart of the Sonoma Coast appellation from Bodega Bay on the Pacific south east to the San Pablo Bay (northern part of the San Francisco Bay).
We’ve never put a wine here on Casemates before, the majority of our sales are here in Petaluma at restaurants, grocery stores and wine shops. With the shutdown from COVID we’re in need of moving product in new ways so we’re very happy to be sharing this with you today! Our current production of Sav Blanc is around a hundred cases annually so don’t wait to grab a case today before they are gone!
@nickhess_lwc thanks for stopping by, we love to hear from winemakers when we get the chance. Could you tell us a little more about your operation? How many cases annually, which varietals you gravitate towards, general winemaking philosophy (old world/new world, fruit/earth, yummy/reductive, etc.) About this wine in particular, do you have the labs handy? TA, pH, harvest brix, etc. With a descriptors like “zesty” and “crisp” I presume no oak or MLF, but I’m asking anyway.
@nickhess_lwc hi, thanks for being here! Since there are two different vintages, I am wondering what differences account for the different tasting notes? I love SB and it would be fun to know what causes the different results of I taste them side by side
LWC itself is more of an idea (dream?) than a physical edifice or map dot. We have no vineyards, winery or even tasting room. The business model is lean and mean, an easy choice when you’re penniless and it’s the only option So we started small, buying grapes from our local Petaluma area small family farms/vineyards and using custom crush for production. As of 2016 we’ve been making the wines at the Meadowcroft Wines production facility where I’m also working full time on the winemaking team.
Our total production is up to about 600 cases, half of which being of our flagship wine/varietal Pinot Noir. We also make a tiny bit of rosé from Pinot Noir, a Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc we’re featuring here today. We have recently stepped out of the Gap for some big red warmer weather varietals, starting last year working with friends at Speedy Creek Vineyard up in Knights Valley where we’re buying Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon; the first of which will be a 2018 Zin released this fall followed by a 2019 co-fermented Sangiovese/Cab Sav blend we’ll be releasing fall 2021.
As for winemaking philosophy I like to keep it simple, find some nice fruit and stay out of the way. I make wines how I like to drink them because I’m not the best salesperson, if we don’t sell out of something my partner and I can always drink them! (Bulletproof business planning) We like our whites (of LWC wines the SB and Rosé) clean and bright, lots of vibrant acidity and freshness with floral bouquets fresh fruit on the palate and a clean mouthwatering finish. With Pinot Noir (and Chardonnay) we keep that mentality but up the mid-palate a bit with some oak for savory notes and texture, no ML on Chard thanks we’ll keep the acid. The big reds we will let ripen a little more for the big and juicy California style, trading away that extra acid while still maintaining balance via the bigger tannins found in those varieties (Zin/CS/Sangio)…
As far as chemistry on the SB I think the pH is around 3.3 on both and TA in the 7-9 range. I try and keep the brix under 23 on SB and yes mostly stainless with a touch of Acacia and no ML. Produced about 100 cases of each, a little less in 18 than 19.
@nickhess_lwc TA of 7-9 is tangy! This looks like Sauvignon Blanc done right. If you shipped to OH I’d have to think about this one. I was just telling @DrHellKnow that I haven’t found a Cali SB that I’ve liked (though I haven’t tried real hard.) I’ve had a lot of the NZ variety over the years, South Africa and of course France (Entre-Deux-Mers, Sancerre.)
Someone else around here also crushes at Meadowcroft. Was it Prohibido?
@CruelMelody great question!
Although both these wines come from the same vineyard, same grape variety and same Winemaker/winemaking technique they do exhibit some differences. First and foremost being a year younger the 19 SB in my opinion is showing a brighter or more intense floral and tropical fruit note, where the 18 with an extra year of aging has transformed some or that brightness into a softer rounder character showing more of the structure and acid with the fruit becoming more integrated as a component of the wines complexity. My apologies that I haven’t tried them side by side since bottling in April. That being said I don’t try to make the same wine every year. It is great to have consistencies but I do make a new wine each time because when I’m putting the final blends together before bottling I’m trying to make that wine taste the best it possibly can to me at that moment in time and putting it into bottle is kind of a snap shot of that expression that (hopefully) emerges when that bottle is served. I do taste my previous vintages for reference but not necessarily to replicate it but to see the results of the blend I did the year before and see where I could improve it in the new blend. One final note on difference between vintages is that the growing season always varies year to year and that’s one thing that separates wine from other beverages is the ingredients are never quite the same. Thanks for that question I hope this helps! Cheers!!
@drhellknow@KitMarlot why yes indeed, Prohibido Wines are coming out of this facility as well! The winery’s owner Tom Meadowcroft has his own Meadowcroft Wines brand as well as Thomas Henry wines and a few other offshoots, but we also host production to an array of winemakers of different size and scale. Cesar who makes Prohibido is a friend of ours and leases some workspace for his endeavors. Myself as a Winemaker working for Mr Meadowcroft, I have been able to arrange my production of Leghorn Wine Co here in the winery also. The Head Winemaker for Meadowcroft (Petar Kirilov) also has his own wine brand that he makes here, Kukeri. We also have several clients we make wine for. Foyt Family Wines is a company we’ve worked with for a long time, and also there’s a couple of Negotiants that do blending here for private label retailers/etc. It really keeps us busy but with so many things going on there’s never a dull moment!!
Winemaker participation, two day ship that worked for me to WI on the Bergevin, we’re still staying out of the fray, I’m closer to my wine for a bit, but still not close (close yet so far!), UPS dropping no signature, buying to drink not hold, a little winemaker chat, I need SB, fresh goods, I dig acid…
Hi All, Hope you enjoy these Savys! We were lucky to find this vineyard in East Petaluma owned/farmed by the Ceja family. The Petaluma Gap is known for a cool marine climate with very strong winds. Burgundian varieties are the staple here so finding Sav Blanc was a treat!
@jhkey Agreed. Rats on this one would be very helpful. Question for Wine David. Would it be possible to include a note somewhere on the site or discussion area noting when the wine has been sent out to rats? I often time wait until seeing some rattage before buying on wine like this that I have no experience with. And I often times forget to check back later in the day. I would definitely do so if I new rats were showing up. Could be pretty useful.
@gtcharlie@jhkey Just posted my rattage. I try to have my reports early, but had a few personal things to take care of this morning, and I had a very late night of revelry.
@irenegade@jhkey had a few of those myself lately. glad to see the rattage and the idea of the the note being posted so I remember to check later in the day!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations) Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc Vertical - $20 = 13.33%
I’m sad to say that I was chosen as a Lab Rat for this. I’ll have to be absolutely clear, I suppose. I do not drink white wine. I prefer not to be a lab rat in general. I’m pretty sure that I’d said it before, but I’m saying it again, just in case. I would have been happy to just mark it return to sender, but the local UPS guys are already working hard enough, and I was curious as to what it was.
Forty or fifty years ago, I’d have probably been happy about a decent bottle of SB, but nowadays I seldom drink even blends (including Rose’). I actually considered finding a local to drink the bottle, and provide a review, but this is a bad time right now, and there are very few people I’m willing to be close to…so it goes.
In better news, I have yet to contract anything (my friends have assured me that I invented social distancing, which probably has a lot to do with it). I’m lucky to have a large house, a big yard, and a decent fence around it (and to be naturally antisocial).
Stay well, stay safe. Drink plenty of white wine; send the Cabernet Sauvignon to me. :-}
(I’m still looking for someone in my acquaintance that drinks white wine. I’ll pass this along to a local sooner or later. Right now it’s in the wine cabinet.)
This has a light almond and dry-lemon nose with a sleek palate that caries attractive, fresh, apple and pear flavors in crisp, fresh mode. Acidity is a highlight here. Drink now. ~ JamesSuckling.com
Specs
Vintage: 2018
Appellation: Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast
Vineyard: Ceja Vineyard
Alcohol: 13.5%
2019 Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
Zesty passion fruit. Pungent aromas of gooseberry, green melon, with juicy passion fruit. A zesty mouthfeel with slices of passion fruit. A long finish with a taste of ripe white peach.
Featuring award winning wines from the windswept Petaluma Gap. Our mission is to bring world class wines to everyone’s table.
Leghorn Wine Company is rooted in Petaluma tradition; showcasing the bounty of our land and agricultural heritage with wines of award winning quality while still priced for everyday life.
Here at Leghorn Wine Company, we support our farmers! We choose to source our fruit from small family owned farms, ensuring not only the highest quality and care in the vineyard but that our dollars go to support our local independent agricultural community.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
2018 Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
I was happy upon opening the box to see a Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc! Perfect for these early summer days in NY. Sat in the fridge overnight. I’m not familiar with the vintner. The bottle has a simple label with a profile image of its namesake, without a capsule.
Light and bright color, with very thin legs that cling longingly to the sides of the glass. The initial nose is light lemon, green apple and a hint of slightly unripe honeydew. I can’t wait to taste it, and I set it down to warm up a bit.
Tasting without accompaniment. The aroma has dissipated to hints more of lime and melon, yet I am not expecting a fruit bomb, which opens up a bunch of possibilities. Upon first taste, the acidity hits immediately with some tartness up front. I swirled and took a healthy swig next. Some acidity still upfront but fruit emerges mid-palate and softens it up considerably. The tartness and acidity are meshing nicely. No grass or flint, a nice example of Northern California SB.
Before a fresh pour, I took another taste and the green fruit is more evident mid-palate.
Another pour, and there’s a tangy finish in addition to the characteristics tasted earlier. The alcohol is a factor as the chill wears off. This SB has character and separates itself from other CA Sauvignon Blancs. Definitely a cut above! I’m sure it will match well with light grilled food as well as Asian cuisine. I think it will be a fine addition to a summer white rotation. I just checked the CS price and it is well worth the 6 bottle price and a steal at the the case price!
@irenegade Thank you so much for reporting. Definitely informative.
@irenegade Did you have the 2018 or the 2019?
@irenegade Which vintage?
Sorry, I had it up there but must have inadvertently deleted it when I edited my report. 2018 Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
Hi again! I failed to introduce myself, where are my manners??!
I’m Nick, partner and Winemaker for Leghorn Wine Company. We’re a very small operation based in Petaluma CA in the Sonoma Coast and what’s called the Petaluma Gap, which is a wind tunnel that runs through the heart of the Sonoma Coast appellation from Bodega Bay on the Pacific south east to the San Pablo Bay (northern part of the San Francisco Bay).
We’ve never put a wine here on Casemates before, the majority of our sales are here in Petaluma at restaurants, grocery stores and wine shops. With the shutdown from COVID we’re in need of moving product in new ways so we’re very happy to be sharing this with you today! Our current production of Sav Blanc is around a hundred cases annually so don’t wait to grab a case today before they are gone!
Cheers!
@nickhess_lwc thanks for stopping by, we love to hear from winemakers when we get the chance. Could you tell us a little more about your operation? How many cases annually, which varietals you gravitate towards, general winemaking philosophy (old world/new world, fruit/earth, yummy/reductive, etc.) About this wine in particular, do you have the labs handy? TA, pH, harvest brix, etc. With a descriptors like “zesty” and “crisp” I presume no oak or MLF, but I’m asking anyway.
@nickhess_lwc hi, thanks for being here! Since there are two different vintages, I am wondering what differences account for the different tasting notes? I love SB and it would be fun to know what causes the different results of I taste them side by side
I just said different a lot
@KitMarlot sure thing, thanks!
LWC itself is more of an idea (dream?) than a physical edifice or map dot. We have no vineyards, winery or even tasting room. The business model is lean and mean, an easy choice when you’re penniless and it’s the only option
So we started small, buying grapes from our local Petaluma area small family farms/vineyards and using custom crush for production. As of 2016 we’ve been making the wines at the Meadowcroft Wines production facility where I’m also working full time on the winemaking team.
Our total production is up to about 600 cases, half of which being of our flagship wine/varietal Pinot Noir. We also make a tiny bit of rosé from Pinot Noir, a Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc we’re featuring here today. We have recently stepped out of the Gap for some big red warmer weather varietals, starting last year working with friends at Speedy Creek Vineyard up in Knights Valley where we’re buying Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon; the first of which will be a 2018 Zin released this fall followed by a 2019 co-fermented Sangiovese/Cab Sav blend we’ll be releasing fall 2021.
As for winemaking philosophy I like to keep it simple, find some nice fruit and stay out of the way. I make wines how I like to drink them because I’m not the best salesperson, if we don’t sell out of something my partner and I can always drink them! (Bulletproof business planning) We like our whites (of LWC wines the SB and Rosé) clean and bright, lots of vibrant acidity and freshness with floral bouquets fresh fruit on the palate and a clean mouthwatering finish. With Pinot Noir (and Chardonnay) we keep that mentality but up the mid-palate a bit with some oak for savory notes and texture, no ML on Chard thanks we’ll keep the acid. The big reds we will let ripen a little more for the big and juicy California style, trading away that extra acid while still maintaining balance via the bigger tannins found in those varieties (Zin/CS/Sangio)…
As far as chemistry on the SB I think the pH is around 3.3 on both and TA in the 7-9 range. I try and keep the brix under 23 on SB and yes mostly stainless with a touch of Acacia and no ML. Produced about 100 cases of each, a little less in 18 than 19.
Thanks! Really hope everyone enjoys!!
@nickhess_lwc FWIW, your participation in the forum made the difference in pulling the trigger on a case.
/giphy lightening-horrified-door
@nickhess_lwc TA of 7-9 is tangy! This looks like Sauvignon Blanc done right. If you shipped to OH I’d have to think about this one. I was just telling @DrHellKnow that I haven’t found a Cali SB that I’ve liked (though I haven’t tried real hard.) I’ve had a lot of the NZ variety over the years, South Africa and of course France (Entre-Deux-Mers, Sancerre.)
Someone else around here also crushes at Meadowcroft. Was it Prohibido?
@drhellknow @KitMarlot @nickhess_lwc
Those Meadowcroft Pinots!!!
@nickhess_lwc FWIW, your participation in the forum made the difference in pulling the trigger on a case.
/giphy lightening-horrified-door
DITTO Got Me Too-
/giphy adherent-dainty-lavender
@CruelMelody great question!
Although both these wines come from the same vineyard, same grape variety and same Winemaker/winemaking technique they do exhibit some differences. First and foremost being a year younger the 19 SB in my opinion is showing a brighter or more intense floral and tropical fruit note, where the 18 with an extra year of aging has transformed some or that brightness into a softer rounder character showing more of the structure and acid with the fruit becoming more integrated as a component of the wines complexity. My apologies that I haven’t tried them side by side since bottling in April. That being said I don’t try to make the same wine every year. It is great to have consistencies but I do make a new wine each time because when I’m putting the final blends together before bottling I’m trying to make that wine taste the best it possibly can to me at that moment in time and putting it into bottle is kind of a snap shot of that expression that (hopefully) emerges when that bottle is served. I do taste my previous vintages for reference but not necessarily to replicate it but to see the results of the blend I did the year before and see where I could improve it in the new blend. One final note on difference between vintages is that the growing season always varies year to year and that’s one thing that separates wine from other beverages is the ingredients are never quite the same. Thanks for that question I hope this helps! Cheers!!
@drhellknow @KitMarlot why yes indeed, Prohibido Wines are coming out of this facility as well! The winery’s owner Tom Meadowcroft has his own Meadowcroft Wines brand as well as Thomas Henry wines and a few other offshoots, but we also host production to an array of winemakers of different size and scale. Cesar who makes Prohibido is a friend of ours and leases some workspace for his endeavors. Myself as a Winemaker working for Mr Meadowcroft, I have been able to arrange my production of Leghorn Wine Co here in the winery also. The Head Winemaker for Meadowcroft (Petar Kirilov) also has his own wine brand that he makes here, Kukeri. We also have several clients we make wine for. Foyt Family Wines is a company we’ve worked with for a long time, and also there’s a couple of Negotiants that do blending here for private label retailers/etc. It really keeps us busy but with so many things going on there’s never a dull moment!!
@drhellknow @KitMarlot @nickhess_lwc
really a treat to have an actual winemaker here sharing a bunch of inside tidbits.
Thanks Nick.
@drhellknow @KitMarlot @rjquillin happily!!
@drhellknow @karenhynes @KitMarlot @nickhess_lwc for real!! So good!
Winemaker participation, two day ship that worked for me to WI on the Bergevin, we’re still staying out of the fray, I’m closer to my wine for a bit, but still not close (close yet so far!), UPS dropping no signature, buying to drink not hold, a little winemaker chat, I need SB, fresh goods, I dig acid…
@kaolis we dig acid too!!
@nickhess_lwc Fortunately those days are lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng gone!
@kaolis @nickhess_lwc
Hi All, Hope you enjoy these Savys! We were lucky to find this vineyard in East Petaluma owned/farmed by the Ceja family. The Petaluma Gap is known for a cool marine climate with very strong winds. Burgundian varieties are the staple here so finding Sav Blanc was a treat!
We were nearly hooked in when we saw “Leghorn”, which took us right to “I SAY, I SAY, now THAT’S a chicken, son!”.
The vintner participation and rattage sealed the deal! Way low here on Sauv Blanc too.
/giphy belligerent-cylindrical-ninja
No OH! Feel like a poor little chicken hawk.
/giphy foghorn-leghorn
Hoping to see some rats on this.
@jhkey Agreed. Rats on this one would be very helpful. Question for Wine David. Would it be possible to include a note somewhere on the site or discussion area noting when the wine has been sent out to rats? I often time wait until seeing some rattage before buying on wine like this that I have no experience with. And I often times forget to check back later in the day. I would definitely do so if I new rats were showing up. Could be pretty useful.
@gtcharlie @jhkey not sure where the LR’s are on this one? Good idea about a note when a LR has been in the house. Will look into that. Thanks
@gtcharlie @jhkey and just like that, a rat has appeared.
@gtcharlie @jhkey Just posted my rattage. I try to have my reports early, but had a few personal things to take care of this morning, and I had a very late night of revelry.
@irenegade @jhkey had a few of those myself lately. glad to see the rattage and the idea of the the note being posted so I remember to check later in the day!
@irenegade Thanks! greatly appreciated! Nice rattage!
Same here!
/giphy remarkable-dated-hammer
@WCCWineGirl @winedavid49 cases sold out! #sadface
Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc Vertical
6 bottles for $74.99 $12.50/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2018 Sauvignon Blanc
2019 Sauvignon Blanc
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations) Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc Vertical - $20 = 13.33%
/giphy tactile-wailing-tulip
I’m sad to say that I was chosen as a Lab Rat for this. I’ll have to be absolutely clear, I suppose. I do not drink white wine. I prefer not to be a lab rat in general. I’m pretty sure that I’d said it before, but I’m saying it again, just in case. I would have been happy to just mark it return to sender, but the local UPS guys are already working hard enough, and I was curious as to what it was.
Forty or fifty years ago, I’d have probably been happy about a decent bottle of SB, but nowadays I seldom drink even blends (including Rose’). I actually considered finding a local to drink the bottle, and provide a review, but this is a bad time right now, and there are very few people I’m willing to be close to…so it goes.
In better news, I have yet to contract anything (my friends have assured me that I invented social distancing, which probably has a lot to do with it). I’m lucky to have a large house, a big yard, and a decent fence around it (and to be naturally antisocial).
Stay well, stay safe. Drink plenty of white wine; send the Cabernet Sauvignon to me. :-}
(I’m still looking for someone in my acquaintance that drinks white wine. I’ll pass this along to a local sooner or later. Right now it’s in the wine cabinet.)
@Shrdlu Hey, if it happens again just give it to the UPS person…of course you’d have to give a quick peek to make sure it’s not a cab right?
Sold out? Wahhhh
@radiolysis @nickhess_lwc @winedavid49
This is what happens when you’ve got rocking’ participation from the winery!
@rjquillin yep. Waited too long…
We’ve now tried both vintages and absolutely love this one- excellent value and glad to have made the Casemates connection!
2018 Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
91 pts. - JamesSuckling.com
Specs
2019 Leghorn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
Specs
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$313.92 for a Case of 12x 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, Petaluma Gap (Not Including Shipping) at Leghorn Wine Company
About The Winery
Winery: Leghorn Wine Company
Location: Petaluma, California
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, June 29th - Friday, July 3rd