| Producer | Dragonette |
| Country | United States |
| Region | Santa Barbara County |
| Varietal | Sauvignon Blanc |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Sku | 18742 |
| Size | 750ml |
Vogelzang continues its run of spectacular vintages. We have leased several acres here since 2009, and these wines have been some of our most highly sought after wines. Farming is by the acre, with specialized pruning, canopy management and irrigation strategies. As with Grassini, Juve Buenrostro runs the team at Vogelzang, and they provide truly excellent farming. Vines are now almost 25 years old, reducing yields and concentrating flavors.
In 2022, yields were extremely low, managing at most 2 tons per acre due to poor set and drought. Fortunately, we have more than 2.5 acres here and were able to just barely produce 250 cases. Choosing which lots went into the single vineyard wine was almost impossible as all the barrels were truly excellent.
Ultimately, we selected 100% French oak barrels of varying sizes (228L barriques, 300L “cigars” and 320 L “Muid’ocs”). In total the new wood represented 28% of the blend. The wine was aged for a total of 16 months on its lees before bottling.
The resulting wine shows classic Vogelzang character of powerful stone fruit, mango and pineapple aromas, with some floral and herb notes, followed by dramatic fruit flavors of great concentration and texture.
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Vogelzang Vineyard is a touch more exotic, with ripe stone fruits, spicy wood, caramelized orange, and honeyed minerality (there's almost a Riesling-like diesel quality) that carry to a richly textured, medium to full-bodied Sauvignon with nicely integrated acidity, a layered, balanced mouthfeel, and a great finish. It's another impeccably made, impressive Sauvignon Blanc from this team that can be drunk any time over the coming decade. Drink: 2024-2034.
The warmer year brought a host of tropical fruit qualities to the grapes growing in the Vogelzang Vineyard, which is one of the finest sites in the Ballard Canyon AVA, with grapes farmed sustainably with no herbicides. Ageing in cigar barrels helps retain some fabulous spicy cedarwood qualities aided by a creamy lactic note from ageing on the gross lees. The warmth of the vintage creates a fuller, richer palate feel with more chalky mineral notes and less acid tension than in brighter years, but make no mistake that this is one delicious wine with Kaffir lime, lemon citrus and white peach notes that has all the components of the vineyard and pure fruit qualities you'd expect from wines made by the incredibly talented Brandon Sparks-Gillis. The 2022 lingers with a spicy verve to it. Drinking Window: 2024-2034.
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Vogelzang Vineyard is another very pretty, expressive wine from Dragonette. It offers a beguiling mix of tropical fruit but in an airy style that emphasizes floral qualities rather than texture. The oak is a bit more present at this stage, but the wine is clearly still coming together. A dollop of Sauvignon Musqué rounds out the blend. Drink: 2024-2028.
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Vogelzang Vineyard incorporates 11% Musqué, contributing to its place as the most tropical, flashy Sauvignon Blanc in the roster and the most complete. Beamingly bright and exuberant aromas of passion fruit, white peach and elderflower lead to a ripe, powerful palate that finishes with impressive saturation and retains a bright, saline-tinged persistence. Drink: 2024-2032.
Sign up for our email newsletter for special deals!
