This is a tribute to the famed Pope Valley Sauvignon Blanc, arguably the best-known grape of the region. The bouquet is a complex symphony of flinty slate, fresh green apple, beeswax, and white spring flowers. The palate is full and creamy with delectable flavors of honey, pineapple, and guava leaving a lingering finish with a kiss of oak.
Vineyard Details
Owned by the Eakle family, Pope Valley Winery is located in the northeastern hills just beyond Howell Mountain in Napa Valley. Our two estate vineyards with a combined 80 planted acres, at the winery and our Eakle Ranch vineyard, yield rich distinctive wines characteristic of the terroir. Our wines showcase the mineral complexity of the soils -Pleasanton loam and Bressa-Dibble complex. Pope Valley is a warm growing climate with cool evenings and mornings which allow the grapes to hang on the vine long enough to ripen to their fullest potential, yet cool enough at night to develop complex varietal aromas. Pope Valley wines express the historic character that established Napa Valley as one of the premier growing regions in the world.
Winemaking Notes
These grapes are from our most mature SB vines. The fruit was hand-harvested in the cool morning and brought to the winery at modest Brix. We picked the fruit in four separate passes to capture balance and complexity. The earlier fruit we pressed whole cluster, and the later picked fruit was macerated on skins for 24 hours. The macerated juice was fermented in French oak barrels, the whole cluster press was fermented in tank. The wine was aged sur lie, in barrel for 6 months.
Specs
Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation: Napa Valley
Vineyard: Eakle Ranch
Fermentation: French oak barrel, stainless steel tank
Barrel Aging: 6 months, 10% new FO
Alcohol: 13.6%
pH: 3.56
RS: 0.5 g/l
TA: 5.8 g/l
Bottling Date: 3/23/23
Release Date: 4/1/23
Cases Produced: 380
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley Case:
12x 2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
Napa Valley is known for its bold red wines, and there is one hidden viticultural area that is perfect for growing these and so much more. This undiscovered spot lies in the northeastern corner of Napa Valley, below the fog line of Howell Mountain, and boasts cool to chilly nights and hot summer days, as well as rich soils.
Pope Valley Winery is a historic winery that was constructed in 1897. It is situated over a meandering stream and was hand dug into the hillside as a three-story gravity flow winery. The winery showcases the legacy of Napa winemaking from the pre-prohibition era to a modern-day authentic family winery. Pope Valley Winery has unique and unparalleled tasting areas, including a historic cellar, second story fermentation lounge, third story scale house, blacksmith shop, and historic farmhouse. The estate is also home to an award-winning wine program that is based on estate, hand farmed vineyards and featuring world-class winemaking.
Sibling duo David Eakle & Diana Eakle Hawkins, who are 4th generation Napa natives, took over the reins of Pope Valley Winery in 2017 from their father, Sam Eakle. They felt a call to preserve and restore this hidden gem of a property, working hard to keep the authenticity of the historic winery while bringing the winemaking program into the modern era. David, as head of viticulture & winemaking, has worked with world-renowned consulting winemakers to create a wine program that focuses not just on cabs, but on unique varietals. The goal is to create a story in a bottle, their story.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Well, this week I was the lucky recipient of a golden ticket. The bottle arrived on-time, and I stowed it in the wine fridge Friday late morning so that it could cool down a bit. A few hours later, I popped, poured, and jotted down some notes. But first the photos:
And now the notes:
• The bottle didn’t have any foil, just a bit of wax over the cork. Cork came out fine, no issues.
• A pretty pale gold in the glass; no sediment, minimal legs.
• Primary notes on the nose were honey and apricot
• Good mouthfeel, some viscosity but not cloying
• Bright flavor, with acidity and tartness, maybe peach or lemon, no grassy or vegetal notes
• Pleasant minerality on the finish
• I’m not good at detecting oak, honestly, but not picking up any here; given the profile and varietal, I assumed stainless
Overall take: Very pleasant to drink, even as someone who usually prefers a richer chardonnay profile. I’m tempted to buy some except that I’m moving next weekend, so delivery is a bit dicey. We’ll see.
2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
TLDR: This tastes really great after spending 7 hours on the move in airports, planes, rental cars, etc. It probably tastes great any time, so consider making a purchase.
I always love the opportunity to Rat, especially when it’s on a type of wine I know very little about! This bottle had about 6 hours to chill down to temp today before sipping after hanging out with the crew in Brown.
Initial Sampling:
nose is crisp; green apple and maybe something else–fresh, inviting, light.
PnP: smooth, clean, slightly tart. more apple, also a bit of melon & another green fruit I can’t readily identify.
Mouthfeel is more enticing than what I’d prepared myself for: it’s not thin, but not full-bodied either. I was looking for the proper descriptor, but I think I’ll just steal “creamy” from the description provided in the tasting notes of the sale.
Tasting again about an hour later in my night, I would add more unhelpful terms like delightful, crisp & refreshing. The tart aftertaste lingers in the best possible way just on the edges of the tongue & mouth. Nuanced sweetness is more aligned to honey than straight sugar–not overpowering but certainly present, and also delicious.
I’m glad this is a weekend offering because I’ll try to step away and share the remainder with my dad, who always appreciates a good white wine. I recognize I might need to rethink the menu for Sunday.
Also, I promise I took pictures but my temperamental phone is having difficulty allowing me to access them. I hope to upload those later on Saturday and/or Sunday along with any additional follow up thoughts/insights before this offer comes to an end.
Many, many thanks to Alice, WD & Pope Valley Winery for the opportunity to taste & share.
Late addition from additional rats-by-association after an afternoon spend celebrating the Pater Familias. If you’re on the fence before the offer closes, a few more tasting notes on the second half of the bottle:
Refreshing Bouquet Crisp & easy to enjoy
Pairs nicely with red berries & sharp cheddar
Perfect for an afternoon patio and/or visit with the girlfriends
Reminiscent of Champagne without the bubbles
Very smooth, very nice Has body, but not too much; a great wine
No strong presence of oak, but otherwise similar to chardonnay that have been well-loved
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc - $40 = 22.21%
Ok, a 2022 SB not a 2018, step in the right direction…ha!
Survey says:
Advocate…93 points. The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc 1897 Reserve features fully ripe aromas of melons and figs on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is round, lush and expansive but with sufficient acid to hold the wine together on the long, harmonious finish. Nicely done. Drink 2023-2027. Joe Czerwinski 1/31/24
There is an 89 point review behind a paywall by Lisa Pertotti-Brown (The Wine Independent)
Dave from the napa wine project had this to say…The 2022 Pope Valley Winery Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is light straw in color; it’s bouquet is highly aromatic offering attractive sweet florals including honeysuckle and star jasmine. It also offers notes of Golden Delicious apple and honeycomb. The palate reveals a light creamy texture complemented by rich flavors of pineapple guava, pineapple, and lemon/lime juice. This is not a green nor a grassy bottling of this variety. It is balanced and drinks very well by itself.
A little winery background from Dave here
Alder Yarrow, vinography.com… Palest greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon and grapefruit. In the mouth, lemony grapefruit flavors are shot through with a hint of candied green apple. There’s a faint sweetness that lingers in the finish, along with a touch of heat. Feb '24
That’s it…off to the farmer’s market, see what’s growing…hopefully more asparagi!
OK - here it is. Not much SB here. Luxuriating in the Schug SB. Also, after a lifetime of avoidance, I bought a boat. (2003 Tracker Party Deck V-hull with a 3.0 Mercruiser I/O). Whites do much better spilling on a boat. Mrs. Woopdedoo is much more of a SB drinker. (I gravitate to anything red) So, Two Cases - Happy Boating!
@chipgreen@woopdedoo As the saying goes, a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into. Believe me, I know. A $5500 boat ended up needing a $4500 new motor (plus $$$ installation and later $1000 repairs to get everything working), and $6000 or so for a better dock/lift. At least we have a good working boat, motor, and dock to enjoy.
@chipgreen@Mark_L Took the boat out and had a great Father’s Day on a lake with the family. While backing my trailer down the ramp to retrieve the boat, the shifter in my truck disconnected. By some crazy good fortune, the guy right near me on the ramp overheard me, and knew how to manually shift it into gear. So, it’s not just money fixing the boat …
OK now seeing that membership has been removed from my account. When I go to put it back on, it is a completely different (higher) price.
Can Casemates staff assist??
2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
93 Points, Wine Advocate
92 Points, Decanter
Tasting Notes
Vineyard Details
Winemaking Notes
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$504.00/Case for 12x 2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley at Pope Valley Winery
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jul 8 - Thursday, Jul 11
2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
4 bottles for $59.99 $15/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $139.99 $11.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Well, this week I was the lucky recipient of a golden ticket. The bottle arrived on-time, and I stowed it in the wine fridge Friday late morning so that it could cool down a bit. A few hours later, I popped, poured, and jotted down some notes. But first the photos:
And now the notes:
• The bottle didn’t have any foil, just a bit of wax over the cork. Cork came out fine, no issues.
• A pretty pale gold in the glass; no sediment, minimal legs.
• Primary notes on the nose were honey and apricot
• Good mouthfeel, some viscosity but not cloying
• Bright flavor, with acidity and tartness, maybe peach or lemon, no grassy or vegetal notes
• Pleasant minerality on the finish
• I’m not good at detecting oak, honestly, but not picking up any here; given the profile and varietal, I assumed stainless
Overall take: Very pleasant to drink, even as someone who usually prefers a richer chardonnay profile. I’m tempted to buy some except that I’m moving next weekend, so delivery is a bit dicey. We’ll see.
Thanks for the bottle, Casemates!
@michaepf Love the TriForce glass! Thanks for the report. Ordering a case!
2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
TLDR: This tastes really great after spending 7 hours on the move in airports, planes, rental cars, etc. It probably tastes great any time, so consider making a purchase.
I always love the opportunity to Rat, especially when it’s on a type of wine I know very little about! This bottle had about 6 hours to chill down to temp today before sipping after hanging out with the crew in Brown.
Initial Sampling:
Tasting again about an hour later in my night, I would add more unhelpful terms like delightful, crisp & refreshing. The tart aftertaste lingers in the best possible way just on the edges of the tongue & mouth. Nuanced sweetness is more aligned to honey than straight sugar–not overpowering but certainly present, and also delicious.
I’m glad this is a weekend offering because I’ll try to step away and share the remainder with my dad, who always appreciates a good white wine. I recognize I might need to rethink the menu for Sunday.
Also, I promise I took pictures but my temperamental phone is having difficulty allowing me to access them. I hope to upload those later on Saturday and/or Sunday along with any additional follow up thoughts/insights before this offer comes to an end.
Many, many thanks to Alice, WD & Pope Valley Winery for the opportunity to taste & share.
Cheers!
@Aureliano
@Aureliano
Late addition from additional rats-by-association after an afternoon spend celebrating the Pater Familias. If you’re on the fence before the offer closes, a few more tasting notes on the second half of the bottle:
Thanks again to Alice, WD & Pope Valley Winery.
Cheers!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2022 Pope Valley Winery 1897 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc - $40 = 22.21%
Ok, a 2022 SB not a 2018, step in the right direction…ha!
Survey says:
Advocate…93 points. The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc 1897 Reserve features fully ripe aromas of melons and figs on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is round, lush and expansive but with sufficient acid to hold the wine together on the long, harmonious finish. Nicely done. Drink 2023-2027. Joe Czerwinski 1/31/24
There is an 89 point review behind a paywall by Lisa Pertotti-Brown (The Wine Independent)
Dave from the napa wine project had this to say…The 2022 Pope Valley Winery Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is light straw in color; it’s bouquet is highly aromatic offering attractive sweet florals including honeysuckle and star jasmine. It also offers notes of Golden Delicious apple and honeycomb. The palate reveals a light creamy texture complemented by rich flavors of pineapple guava, pineapple, and lemon/lime juice. This is not a green nor a grassy bottling of this variety. It is balanced and drinks very well by itself.
A little winery background from Dave here
Alder Yarrow, vinography.com… Palest greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon and grapefruit. In the mouth, lemony grapefruit flavors are shot through with a hint of candied green apple. There’s a faint sweetness that lingers in the finish, along with a touch of heat. Feb '24
That’s it…off to the farmer’s market, see what’s growing…hopefully more asparagi!
fwiw
OK - here it is. Not much SB here. Luxuriating in the Schug SB. Also, after a lifetime of avoidance, I bought a boat. (2003 Tracker Party Deck V-hull with a 3.0 Mercruiser I/O). Whites do much better spilling on a boat. Mrs. Woopdedoo is much more of a SB drinker. (I gravitate to anything red) So, Two Cases - Happy Boating!
@woopdedoo
Mrs. ChipGreen also loves her SB but alas, no shipping to OH.
They say the best day of a man’s life is when he buys his first boat. The second best day is when he sells it. In the meantime, enjoy!
@chipgreen @woopdedoo As the saying goes, a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into. Believe me, I know. A $5500 boat ended up needing a $4500 new motor (plus $$$ installation and later $1000 repairs to get everything working), and $6000 or so for a better dock/lift. At least we have a good working boat, motor, and dock to enjoy.
@chipgreen @Mark_L Took the boat out and had a great Father’s Day on a lake with the family. While backing my trailer down the ramp to retrieve the boat, the shifter in my truck disconnected. By some crazy good fortune, the guy right near me on the ramp overheard me, and knew how to manually shift it into gear. So, it’s not just money fixing the boat …
Thank you for the reviews. As Mrs. Maurakid I, too, enjoy a good SB and so in a case!
OK now seeing that membership has been removed from my account. When I go to put it back on, it is a completely different (higher) price.
Can Casemates staff assist??
@Maurakid
What’s up with VMP