March 2025 2 Whites
Massican Annia White Blend, 2023
Massican is Napa and Sonoma’s only white wine winery. The wines are made from 10 grape varieties planted in 13 vineyards on California’s North Coast. The vineyards are farmed at minimum with sustainable standards and at maximum with certified organic practices. The winemaking is respectful of the vineyards and the grapes, and therefore, there is very little interference during the fermentation process to make these wines.
Massican Wines’ flagship white wine blend is sourced from small vineyards around the Napa Valley. The three grape varietals, Tocai Friulano (43%), Ribolla Gialla (34%) and Chardonnay (23%), are harvested separately and fermented independently in French Oak and stainless steel tanks until blending six weeks before bottling. The Tocai and Ribolla build the aroma and flavor profile of the wine, while the Chardonnay adds to the wine’s structure. Annia is fresh and subtle and fulfills the promise set forth years ago to bottle memorable white wines unique among the wines of California.
You’ll notice apple and citrus blossoms, honeysuckle, and wet stones on the nose, and lemons, peaches, and sea foam on the palette. Pairs well with salads, light cheeses, prosciutto with crusty bread, and fish.
Product Ratings:
Wine Spectator, 93 points
VinePoints, 93 Points, Top Wines of 2024 #8
Wine Spectator, 92 Points
Gigondas La Cave Vacqueyras Blanc L’Atelier, 2023
In 1956, La Cave des Vignerons de Gigondas was created in the heart of the Gigondas region by a handful of winegrowers wishing to defend their identity and economic interests as winegrowers. They wanted to create a Gigondasian joint venture, of a size significant enough to professionally address the oenological and commercial issues related to the vinification, maturing and distribution of Gigondas wine. In this process, yesterday as today, there was, there is a fierce, militant desire to build our appellation from this land where we live, in the most active, authentic way possible, in order to develop with the other winegrowers a highly qualitative image of wines from this exceptional terroir.
This blend contains 70% Grenache Blanc, 15% Viognier, and 15% Clairette from the Vacqueyras region of Rhone Valley, France. Protected by the Dentelles de Montmirail which overlook the village, the Vacqueyras vineyard benefits from a great diversity of soils and terroirs which give its wines a beautiful aromatic richness.
Meticulously crafted through traditional vinification, this wine unveils a pale yellow hue with silver undertones. Its lively and fresh character introduces delightful notes of pear and star fruit, evolving gracefully to offer a beautifully rounded mouthfeel
Perfect for both as an aperitif and pairing with hard cheeses, exotic dishes like chicken curry or Caribbean crab, and cream-based pastas.
