The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc-Musque from Laujor Estate defies etymology — or at least it defies the efforts of those unwilling to pursue a word beyond a page or so.
Singular comes to mind. The floral harmonics and elusive undertones engage your senses. You begin to search for comparisons, to find those notes drifting just beyond your grasp. Under its spell it is easy to forget the wine’s equally unique vintage.
Cheryl Lucido and her crew harvested the grapes in August, as the Rocky Fire blazed in the distance. Fortunately, it had been crushed and fermented before that fateful day in September. The winery was evacuated during the devastating first few days of the Valley Fire.
The Sauvignon Blanc clone is one of the first of Lake County’s 2015s ready for sampling.
Despite all the fear expressed — mostly from elsewhere — of smoke taint, the wine expresses nothing more than the varietal and the Red Hills terroir.
Sauvignon Blanc-Musque is lauded for its fragrance. From the Laujor 2015, notes of fresh meadow clover reach the nose, along with an intriguing musty fig to balance the bowl of bright tropical fruits and apples more typically associated with Sauvignon Blanc.
Somewhere in the olfactory mix, you glimpse a dense, burnished sweetness — something that sings a reprise on the palate.
This distance sensation approaches more willingly when sipped. It is a supporting note, throwing a little brawn into the fruit pleasantries and best described as slices of pear dipped into a provincial honey. Around it swarms crisp fruits — pineapple, spicy mango and green apple, its peeled skin fluttering on the finish.
Laujor’s Sauvignon Blanc-Musque is a light summer wine, but one with just a bit more heft. Lucido fermented in stainless steel to preserve the bright fruits. Out of the barrel it showed hints of tart sorbet. Now, after just two weeks in bottles, that impression has deepened and the aromas have become more expressive.
“This will get better in the bottle,” Lucido said. “It will get creamier — and more stonefruit.”
The wine will be on shelves in a few weeks.
She works with the grape every year and understands its habits. Knowing the differences between traditional Sauvignon Blanc and its Musque clone is the key.
“It doesn’t have the acidity of a Sauvignon Blanc,” Lucido explained.
The varietal, cloned originally in Bordeaux, accounts for an estimated 1 to 2 percent of all Sauvignon Blanc acreage in California. Few winemakers even produce a single varietal of the clone.
So the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc-Musque from Laujor is again unusual. Or …
Well, there may indeed be a plural for “singular,” but it’s better to leave it at this: The wine is singular in two respects.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
