A few weeks back I talked about Raphael Vineyards 2010 estate Sauvignon Blanc. This time I want to talk about their other Sauvignon blanc. The one made from older vines that were planted when Raphael began in 1998 from the 3 acre founding vineyard. This label is reserved for the older vines.
2010 was one of the best vintages to date. It might be the best one in fact. Raphael Vineyards 2010 First Label Sauvignon Blanc ($26) shows just how good the vintage was.
On the nose, tropical notes lead the way with some kiwi, grapefruit, and a lemon lime mix. Notes of sweet herb, like basil and hints of green grass round out the nose with hints of salinity as the wine warms in the glass.
On the palate, fresh-cut grass leads the way with all the fruit that I picked up on the nose carry over on to the palate – grapefruit, lemon, lime and some tropical flavors.
Bright, crisp clean acidity that carried for a while then gently balanced out to give the wine some heft on the palate.
The finish brought some herbal notes with hints of gooseberry with a moderately long finish.
Sláinte!
*I received this bottle as a sample from the vineyard
Undertaking Wine 
Interesting your two favorable reviews for the last two 2010 Sauv Blancs, both of which I have not tried. I have tried about 5 Sauv Blancs from the 2010 vintage and have been less impressed. For all the talk of the 2010 vintage, I think the ‘problematic’ 2009 vintage has been better for this grape. Have you tried these two wines from 2009 or 2008. I wonder what if you like those vintages more or as much.
Steve,
Thanks for reading and commenting. The Martha Clara SB was indeed one of my favorites. Of the ones I tasted, I liked the Rapahel First Label as well. Also in the running was the 2010 from Pindar Vineyards.
I have tasted about 10 SB from the 2010 vintage. And I agree with you. When I first tasted the 2010 SB’s when some were released in the early spring, I think that some may have been in bottle shock. There will be a couple more SB’s on here in the coming weeks that I have re tasted 6 months later, and I find that now they are starting to express themselves beautifully.
I thought that the 2009 whites were excellent across the board. I prefer the 2009’s to the 2008’s.
The downfall of the 2010 whites may have been that some showed too much ABV. Some were out of balance as well. But go back and taste some now, and let me know what you think. I think that they are starting to come into their own now.