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Bodkin’s Sauvignon Blanc gets evenings off to a great start — in any season! As Christopher Christensen puts it, “Peaches, pear, guava and jasmine aromas explode from the glass. Subtle hints of gooseberry and pine needles add to the complexity of enticing aromas. The wine begins on the palate like taking a fresh bite out of a crisp pear. Sweet apricots and green apples dance along the tongue. The limey, textured finish is refreshing with just a hint of toasted cashews from the very small percentage of the wine fermented in oak.”
Despite growing up in eastern Iowa in a non-drinking household, Christopher Christensen, the “winesmith and head honcho” at Bodkin Wines, caught the wine bug soon after graduating from Stanford University. But without preconceived notions about how to start and run a winery, Christensen does march to the beat of his own drummer. Guiding him has been the line “We few, we happy few,” from Shakespeare’s King Henry V, a play he loved so much that his labels depict the 15th century Battle of Agincourt and his winery is named for the type of arrow point that may have helped Henry defeat the French.
As a winery, Bodkin is no less unusual than the labels. For one thing, it’s built upon the labor of “one man, one dog, and an army of friends.” Christensen purchases most of his grapes from the Sandy Bend Vineyard in Lake County and makes his wines in space rented in Healdsburg. Odder still is the narrow focus on Sauvignon Blanc. But these Sauv Blancs are made in a variety of styles, some downright atypical if not unheard of. For example, Bodkin has released California’s first sparkling Sauvignon Blanc - a product Christensen learned to love in New Zealand. While sparkling Sauv Blanc isn’t likely to change California’s production of Methode Champenoise based on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it’s a delight nonetheless, reminding us that popping a cork needs no special occasion. Bodkin’s “The Victor’s Spoils” is Sauv Blanc in the traditional Loire style - unoaked, dry and moderate in alcohol. On the other hand, the “Musqué Clone” bottling features a clone of Sauvignon Blanc that’s planted in few California vineyards but offers unique aromatics and flavors. Finally, “The Albino” is another rule breaker: Sauvignon Blanc fermented on the skins and aged in oak like a red wine and bottled without fining or filtration. Orange-hued and bold in flavor, it alters one’s expectations for clean and correct California wine and suggests that a new generation of winemakers, like Chris Christensen of Bodkin, will be taking California wine in new directions.
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Appellation(s) | Lake County |
| Winery | Bodkin Wines |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Color | White |
| Varietal(s) | Sauvignon Blanc |
| Closure | Screw Cap |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Bottle Size | 7.5 x 30.5 |
| Case Size | 31.5 x 23.5 x 31.5 |
| Alcohol | 13.1% |
| Product Code | BK22SB |
| UPC | NONE |
Aromas of peach and guava as well as wet stone lead to a juicy smooth burst of citrus fruit and pears on the palate. Toward the finish the wine is crisp and but accented with lovely roundness.
Fermented and aged in stainless steel with no secondary malolactic fermentation.