Pale straw color; Meyer lemon, lime, peach, nectarine, honeydew melon, minerality, white flowers, light sprinkling of freshly-cut grass on the nose and palate.
Dry; minimal tannin; excellent acidity (3.32 pH; 7.0 g/L TA). Light-plus body. 100% sauvignon blanc from Blake’s Launch Vineyard. Hand-picked clusters field sorted into half-ton bins. After destemming, fruit went directly to gentle whole-cluster press. Fermented primarily in stainless steel to focus on the fruit, small portion fermented in neutral French oak for complexity. Frequent bâtonnage for texture. Aged five months in stainless steel. 13.5% ABV
Abigail Estrada was the winemaker; she honed her skills in Italy, New Zealand, and Israel along with U.S. makers Markham (a sister winery to Textbook), Domaine Chandon, and Robert Mondavid before joining Textbook.
Jonathan and Susan Pey started Textbook Napa Valley in 2004. Jonathon spent a year in his youth in France when his father’s work transferred him. During that time, he discovered wine was as much a part of a meal as milk. Returning from abroad he earned his undergraduate degree in agronomy from the University of Arizona and began working as a sales manager for Kobrand Corp in New York City. During that time, he discovered Napa and centered on Oakville as the place he wanted to have a winery. And so he made it so.
The Textbook name came about when Jonathan was tasting his first vintage from barrel. He remembers pulling out the wine with a wine thief into two glass and noticing the dark color, the density, the texture and the exotic aromas. He said something like, “this is classic Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon—so textbook like.” The name rang true and, surprisingly was not trademarked. He says his goal with his Napa Valley cab is to provide its varietal expression and make people want to say, “this is what Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon smells and tastes like.” The same applies to sauv blanc.
In 2019, with the business of wine taking up more and more of his time, Jonathan sold the winery to Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners, a group whose parent company is Kirin Brewery Company in Japan that also is associated with Mercian, a Kirin subsidiary that owns wineries in Japan, France, and Markham Vineyards in the Napa Valley. Jonathon remains active in Textbook overseeing winemaking, vineyard sources, and participating in select marketing events. He just does not have to mess with the bean counters and HR aspects as much as he once did.
Textbook Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley The Pey Family 2023 is brightly focused, balanced, tasty, easy drinker. Jonathan Pey’s vision was to produce “textbook examples” of California wines. He achieves his goal with this expression of cool-climate California sauv blanc. It is not a razor-on-the-tongue New Zealand effort It is much more elegant and inviting for you to find pleasure in what Russian River sauv blanc offers. Both styles can be wonderful, they also can be different.
Pairing—seafood is classic; fresh oysters, shell-on prawns, crab, grilled sea bass and other white fish; salmon, halibut, barramundi, cod, smoke salmon. Poultry: rotisserie chicken; baked or grilled chicken with herbs, rosemary, thyme, or basil. Turkey with herb-driven sauces or marinades. Herb-crusted pork. Grilled asparagus, artichokes, grilled peas, cucumber dishes with dill or other fresh herbs. Cheese—goat cheese is classic with sauv blanc; fresh chèvre, montealva, Sainte Maure, Crottin de Chavignol; aged gouda, gruyère, parmigiano-reggiano, aged asiago; havarti, Monterey jack, Colby jack; muenster, Swiss. Cheeses should be at or near room temperature.
Textbook Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley The Pey Family 2023
