Wine Advisor
Accendo Cellars, Sauvignon Blanc 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc strides boldly out of the glass with notes of green apples, white peaches and fresh grapefruit plus hints of wild thyme, lemongrass, honeysuckle and musk perfume. Medium-bodied, the palate has a lovely touch of creaminess to the texture with loads of freshness lifting the intense stone fruit and citrus flavors to a long finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc is a very pretty and expressive wine that captures striking varietal character and textural richness, with pretty tropical overtones from the Sauvignon Musqué clone in the blend. Racy, inviting and flat-out delicious, the 2018 is a real winner. In this vintage, the Sauvignon has a bit more weight and texture while retaining its classic sense of brightness. This is such a gorgeous white.
About the Producer
Accendo Cellars was founded in 2013 by vintners Bart and Daphne Araujo and their two children, Jaime and Greg. Focusing on crafting premium limited production wines, the Araujos have aligned themselves with some of the top vineyards in Napa Valley, including select Oakville and Yountville sites. They have also built an accomplished viticulture and winemaking team. The Araujo’s roots in Napa Valley date back to the late 1980s. Bart remembers the first time he visited Napa Valley for wine related interests. It was in 1989 at the request of Bob Montgomery (Montgomery Vineyard in Calistoga) to join him at the Napa Valley Wine Auction. At the time Bob was representing Bart’s company, A-M Homes. Bart wistfully recalls attending a Friday evening wine dinner, outdoors at the Spottswoode Estate in St. Helena next to their gorgeous pool, looking west between two palm trees and watching a full moon. It was a memorable evening both because of the vintners he met for the first time as well as the visual beauty that evening. Bart is a native of San Francisco who attended the University of Southern California (USC) and also Harvard Business School. From his home base in Los Angeles at the time, he co-founded A-M Homes, a successful home construction company which he sold a majority interest in the late 1980s to Jennings Group Ltd. of Australia and in 1992 the company was again sold including Araujo’s ownership to Pacific Greystone. Daphne is a retired landscape architect. Upon selling their southern California based company, the Araujos began searching for vineyard property, specifically in the Napa Valley. Through the help of realtor Jean Philips (founder of Screaming Eagle), located and purchased the iconic Eisele Vineyard in Calistoga in 1990. That same year, they founded Araujo Estate and operated it until selling in 2013 to Paris, France based Artemis Group.
