2024 Lady of the Sunshine, Sauvignon Blanc, Stolpman Vineyard, Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley.
Made like a classic Loire version of Pouilly-Fumé, a-la Dagueneau, the beautiful 2024 Lady of the Sunshine Stolpman Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, by Gina Giugni, shows off a richly textured palate, but with bright acidity and a nice sense of tension at its core and delivers a racy array of lemon/lime, white peach, tropical fruit and subtle jalapeño notes. The dry extract, delicate florals and crisp nature here makes for some palate impact and while easily quaffable, it certainly gets better with food. This was my first experience with Lady of the Sunshine wines, and I was left pretty impressed and thirsty for more, but there’s been a buzz about these wines for a number of years, being an underground favorite on the Central Coast. This light golden hued 100% Sauvignon Blanc from the Stolpman vineyard, in the Ballard Canyon AVA in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, comes from vines planted to own-rooted ‘Clone 1’ Sauvignon Blanc set on a limestone outcropping. Gina says that helps the grapes retain naturally high acidity levels during the warm ripening season. Hand harvested in two separate picks, one before the Labor Day heatwave of 2024 and a second pass two days later saw deeply flavorful grapes that were foot-trodded at the winery, soaked on skins overnight, then whole-bunch pressed the next morning. Giugni adds that the juice then went into neutral French oak barrels for an all native ferment, after which wine aged on the full lees for about eight months, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The California native Gina Louise Giugni (Hildebrand) started her label Lady of the Sunshine in 2017 and has focused on organic farming and naturally styled elegant wines. This second generation biodynamic farmer and winemaker has captured the attention and the heart of her peers and makes a fine collection of offerings from the Santa Barbara County area of the central coast, including the Stolpman Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc seen here. Having grown up on her family’s eighty-six acre biodynamic-certified farm in the Sierra Foothills, says has said it was always the influence of her family that set her on her course to pursue biodynamic farming herself and she developed an early interest in making terroir-driven wines. So after getting her degree in Wine and Viticulture she was mentored for several years with different winemakers who focused on responsible farming including in France, New Zealand, Oregon, and Napa. With that experience in hand Gina , now part of a power couple with Mikey Giugni, of Scar of the Sea, she now calls the Central Coast of California her home, enjoying the cool maritime climats and the welcoming community of like minded winemakers. In 2024, Gina and Mikey were able to purchase the notable Bassi Vineyard, which is a 29-acre site in Avila Beach, on the chilly San Luis Obispo Coast that will form the core of a new series of estate wines. So it is exciting times at both Scar of the Sea and Lady of the Sunshine labels and I highly recommend getting to know these wines as soon as possible. Of particular interest to me me is what the future holds for this youthful label, though I am curious about the intriguing Nero d’Avola/Pinot Noir blend and the unique Sierra Foothills Gamay that comes from Gina’s family’s Narrow Gate vineyard!
($37 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive