2021 Round Pond Estate Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford Napa Valley (375 mL) Half-Bottle

Good Napa Sauvignon Blanc is refreshing. Great Napa Sauvignon Blanc is vibrant. Exceptional Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is Round Pond. Estate-grown in a Rutherford vineyard sandwiched between Caymus headquarters and Andy Beckstoffer’s Georges III Vineyard, and bearing the influence of “the most successful winemaker in California,” it’s a study in balance and fruit complexity. 

A taste of hallowed Napa terroir is a rarity at this price point, and Round Pond Sauvignon doesn’t just deliver pedigree: It serves up the irresistible combination of brightness, elegance, and precision that has inspired Wine Access member loyalty and moved critics like Antonio Galloni to exclaim that Round Pond’s wines “offer tremendous quality across all price ranges.”

Round Pond winemaker John Wilson is an alum of Vine Cliff and Littorai. Together with consultant Thomas Rivers Brown—whose “Midas touch” (according to Wine Spectator) has routinely turned out 100-point wines, and with whom Wilson has worked for more than a decade—he crafts an impressive, Rutherford-raised Sauvignon Blanc that stands with the stars of Napa Valley, every vintage. 

“This team makes a delicious white,” Jeb Dunnuck has said, but “delicious” is just a start. The gorgeous layers of the 2021 Round Pond start in the vineyard, which is planted with two Loire clones and a rare Sauvignon Musqué clone. Workers at Round Pond capture different snapshots of the fruit by making three separate passes at harvest. Wilson and Brown then focus on delivering gorgeous Sauvignon Blanc character in the bottle, fermenting the three clones in stainless steel and preventing malolactic fermentation. What results is a core of vibrant fruit with exceptional texture, complemented by a heady pop of aromatics from the always-fetching Sauvignon Musqué.