2022 AXR NAPA VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC AXR’s estate is a historic property founded over 130 years ago that has been a brewery, restaurant, inn, saloon, and winery with the first woman vintner in California in 1886. The property sits at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains with layers of sedimentary soils formed from eons of rainwater runoff, giving a distinct character and range of depth. Winemaker and part-owner Jean Hoefliger was born in Switzerland and gained initial experience making wine in Bordeaux, working for Château Lynch-Bages and Château Carbonnieux, and later in South Africa at Meerlust. AXR’s 2022 Sauvignon Blanc was fermented in three different vessels, 70% in barrel, 18% in stainless steel, and 12% in concrete eggs, before five months of maturation in 20% new French oak, giving a white Bordeaux-style and mouthfeel with expressive Napa Valley fruit. Winery Notes: The extraordinary Oak Knoll single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is vibrant, expressive and versatile. Fantastic as an aperitif, yet complex and layered enough to pair with a wide variety of culinary dishes. An aromatic explosion of citrus flower and tropical fruit like pineapple with crushed rocks. The palate is crisp with a fresh entrance evolving on a mineral mid-palate with crushed fruit like peach and apricot and lingering on grapefruit and starfruit.