Echolands Winery White Blend Taggart Vineyard Albus 2022 Walla Walla Valley

Our first estate wine from Taggart Vineyard, named for my grandfather (who grew up nearby), my mom (her maiden name, duh) and my Uncle Gene, who poured me my first glass of wine (I was fifteen; get over it), Albus is our first white wine. It's 72% Sauvignon Blanc and 28% Semillon, from our vines on the north end of Taggart, close by Lower Dry Creek. The Sauvignon Blanc sees some skin contact and a single barrel of it was barrel-fermented, while the Semillon was de-stemmed, crushed and drained into stainless steel for fermentation. Two clones of Sauvignon Blanc create two differing styles of the grape, but both are fruit focused and not at all the gooseberry thing that has placed New Zealand on the map. We'll leave that style to the kiwis.