Shed Horn’s 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is a Shakespearean prologue — the narrator fixing chapters to place and time.
Well, that’s not quite how winemaker Michael Wood describes it. He merely refers to the wiles of fortune. A year ago Wood culled a little more crop from a particularly favored plot of land.
“We didn’t do anything different to it,” he explained, comparing the winemaker’s touch from one vintage to the next.
The French crowned the lofty character etched into a wine by soil, weather and location “terroir.” Under the sometimes harsh, sometimes benign tutelage of nature, a varietal learns both nuance and stage presence — always with reference to the chosen narrative.
Perhaps that is why winemakers humble themselves to terroir. The press, fermentation and the choice of barrels or stainless steel only provide shades to the character. Shakespeare is created in the fields.
In this case, what it created is a Sauvignon Blanc masterpiece. The curtain opens to opulent aromas, like fruit butter with a tropical embrace. Papaya and mango notes lull you into repose. Whole lemon — a bowl of citrus not scarred by the knife — rests in the background. And a finely ground pepper whispers of unspoken evenings on unspoiled beaches.
On the palate the fruits soften, as if reducing in rich fats ready for tucking into a flaky tart. Pineapple flavors concentrate, along with guava and mango. Yet the mouthfeel — luxurious and willing to linger — stands out above the dense flavors.
It’s a sonnet, condensed so that each word expresses pages. It speaks of age, of time spent in honed old world oak.
“I’ve had people tell me that,” Wood said, insisting he fermented only in modern, gleaming stainless steel. “We don’t do any barrel work with Sauvignon Blanc.”
He admits the 2015 vintage samples as more tropical than earlier versions. But he attributes this to the magic of terroir. The only credit he allows for himself is the simple act of biting into grapes plucked from the vine just before harvest.
For the Sauvignon Blanc, Wood ignores scientific samples of pH and sugar levels in favor of a more old fashioned critique. He simply paces the field as harvest approaches and takes a bite or two.
“Walking the vineyards, making the decision based on taste and not numbers — that helps,” he said.
Not that he dismisses the more practical measures. He just has a palate for the balance of sweetness and acid that develops into a remarkable Sauvignon Blanc.
But the 2015 is something special.
Yes, some may worry about the vintage. A year marred by fire and smoke has been known to taint wines. But the 2015s tasted so far show no effect of the harrowing flames.
“The smoke didn’t sit long enough to effect the wine,” Wood said. And, of course, the early harvest meant the Sauvignon Blanc was encased in steel long before the Valley Fire ignited.
And that is a good thing. A very nice — perhaps Shakespearean — twist of fortune.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
