Now I never thought I would find myself enthusing about a Napa Valley Sauvignon – which just shows how blinkered I am. Most Napa Sauvignons I find too heavy, sweet and oily with an uncomfortably low refreshment quotient. But this particular wine, of which only 440 cases were made apparently, is quite different – presumably because it was grown on quite steep hillside vineyards rather than the valley floor.
It smells of ripe figs and is indeed pretty weighty but is wonderfully taut and minerally on the palate in the way that a top quality Condrieu is (see winetasting.com which specialises in online winery sales.
Spring Mountain, on the western hillsides above St Helena, supplied some of the very first wine we imported for L'Escargot restaurant when Nick re-opened it in 1981 but has changed hands and reputations since then. I seem to remember it was the setting for a soap opera or movie...?