MELKA PROPRIETARY WHITE, MEKERRA VINEYARD, KNIGHTS VALLEY

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA 2014

“One might raise their eyebrows at the price of Melka's Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s one of the great Sauvignons being produced in the modern world” - Robert Parker

Sauvignon Blanc, in and of itself, doesn’t fuel a craze quite like cult Cabernets, Grand Cru Burgundies or First Growth Bordeaux – but why? For most wine to be recognized, there needs to be enough produced for people to taste and trumpet about. In the case of the world’s top Sauvignon Blancs – from Chateau Haut Brion Blanc and Domaine de Chevalier Blanc to Peter Michael Coeur a Coeur, Screaming Eagle’s Sauvignon Blanc, or Dagueneau Silex - they are made in tiny quantities, and if you’re not at the top of an exclusive mailing list and don’t get a bottle upon release– it can be nearly impossible to track down. It is a grape that will grow just about anywhere, but that doesn’t mean it will make great wine. But in the hands of a master, it can be epic and life-changing. With an uncanny ability to develop with age, it is truly a trophy piece for any collector’s cellar. Eric Asimov of the New York Times has referred to the great whites of Bordeaux as “phantom wine…seldom visible,” and I would like to extend that sentiment to the great Sauvignon Blancs of California as well. So, it is not often that we are offered an allocation of a rare white from one of the top wine consultants in the world and one of California’s most notable winemakers, Philippe Melka. For the man who began his winemaking career at Chateau Haut Brion – a property that produces perhaps one of the most emblematic and category-defining Sauvignon Blancs in the world, today’s offer really brings Philippe Melka full circle.

From a brilliant resume of wines produced, Robert Parker notes that “Melka has done an amazing job making Sauvignon Blanc cuvees for Robin Lail…so he has the Midas touch when it comes to this varietal” and today’s wine is another magnificent example. Melka’s Mekerra Vineyard Proprietary White is sourced from a high elevation hillside parcel located at 2,300-2,500 feet (above where Peter Michael produces their Sauvignon Blanc) in Sonoma's Knights Valley. Featuring intense, lush aromas of white peach, crushed rock, exotic melon and honeysuckle, it is a blend of 97% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Muscadelle. With a rich, plush texture yet light on its feet, this opulent and bold wine will age beautifully over the next decade. For a wine that is a dead ringer for a top Bordeaux Blanc that can fetch more than double the price, this is a small allocation that won’t last long. So if you’re looking for a serious white, with beautiful acidity, notable purity that’s richly textured and will age for upwards of a decade, this is your chance to get a bottle before it’s gone! With only 20 six-packs available, this is a very limited offer only available to customers in California.