$64.99 on 6+* US Low (use code: 6saves3)
$67.99 reg 
*mix & match is OK

Tasting Note: Medium lemon yellow. A reductive nose of flint, crushed chalky rocks and struck match give way to lemons (Meyer, Sicilian), limes, and white florals, very moderate notes of vanilla and cream on the edge. Medium bodied, med+ acidity, lovely textural feel, tender on the palate with pronounced and persistent flavors. A mineral, floral, and a conservatively citrus fruit finish. This was very much a show stopper for the team, blowing away expectations, and giving Sauvignon Blanc a very real sense of place and identity in California, which is what Robert Mondavi did when he created Fume Blanc. The best SB from CA that I have had in I can't remember how long!

• 99% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Sémillon
• Organically farmed Mendocino AVA grown fruit
• 13% abv
• Fermented in equal parts concrete, large format neutral oak, and stainless steel
• Gentle lees stirring during fermentation
• NO malolactic fermentation
• Aged sur lie for 10 months
• Racked once to tank for blending and bottling

94 pts Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, a vibrant white offering ample Meyer lemon, honeyed flowers, and crushed stone-driven aromatics, as well as a crisp, clean sense of reduction. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, and elegant, it might be my favorite of the lineup. I love it today, yet it should have at least a decade of longevity, if not more.

++++

Hot off the heels of the great Sancerre sauvignon blanc wines from Gerard Boulay this week (more after this offer below), the team tasted today's wine the other day and we all thought it was a stunning example of what California Sauvignon Blanc rarely achieves: an authentic expression of the grape and site.  It also had the ability to outshine its Cabernet sibling that costs 6 times as much!  Sentium is made by Chiara Mondavi, granddaughter of the legendary Robert Mondavi!  Things get really interesting with this wine too as we learned more and peeled back the layers of why there is no Mondavi name on the wine  all very cool reasons and deserving for such a great wine to stand on it's own merits.

Sentium was created by Chiara and she is the viticulturist for this gorgeous plot of old vines in the Redwood Valley in Mendocino.  Just check out those old 50+ year-old vines above!  Together with other fourth generation Mondavis they are, "banding together to create something uniquely expressive of our shared love. A wine honoring our history with Fume Blanc, of three generations before, of a white wine from California that could stand in the company of the great wines of the world."

So, first off, as I said above they wanted to create a wine on their own merits so they left the Mondavi and Continuum names off of any of this wine's labels front or back.

Two, it is an connection to the past.  The oldest vines in all of Napa Valley are the old Sauvignon Blanc vines in the "I Block" of the To Kalon vineyard that are in the back yard of the Mondavi winery in Oakville. The "I Block" makes to this day one of the rarest and best expressions of Sauvignon Blanc in California, though I liked it a lot more under Tim Mondavi's tutelage than the current corporate suits at Constellation.  The I Block wine and more importantly the creation of "Fume Blanc" by Robert Mondavi were legendary in advancing wine culture in the early days of Napa Valley.

Three, Sentium is an homage to their family. Sentium is a way for the 4th generation to pay their respects to their grandparents Marjorie and Robert Mondavi and what they did in paving the way for their family and much of the American wine industry as we know it today.