2017 Blackbird Vineyards Dissonance Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley

Blackbird’s First White = Liquid Harmony

When we first tasted the Blackbird Dissonance Sauvignon Blanc at the Bespoke Collection tasting room, Riverhouse, in downtown Napa, we couldn’t get the lifted aromas of jasmine and mandarin blossoms, the flavors of nectarine cut through with a distinct brininess, out of our head: They stuck there, like the chorus to a great song. 

Then, when we discovered it was crafted by Aaron Pott and the last cases were available for under $35, we knew we had to have every last bottle available. 

Aaron Pott is one of the most respected winemakers in the world, with experience at Chateau La Tour Figeac in Bordeaux, Quintessa in Napa, and beyond. The roster of clients he consults for reads like a who’s who of the world of California wine—Newton, Quixote, and more have relied on his vision and expertise. Food & Wine Magazine once named him “Winemaker of the Year.”

The wines he’s worked on have earned stratospheric scores, and typically cost a lot of money.

But Dissonance deliciously flips the script: A classic blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, “the 2017 Dissonance sings of fresh limes, yuzu zest and preserved lemons with touches of wild thyme, crushed stones and oyster shell,” praised Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. “Medium-bodied with plenty of zing, it has a crisp, refreshing backbone cutting through the intense citrus layers, finishing long and mineral laced.” Wine Enthusiast loved it every bit as much for its “fig, lemon peel and quince [that] provide fleshy fruit flavors complemented by wet stone and lingering texture.”

Not only is the winemaking as careful and detailed as possible, with aging in clay amphorae as well as French oak to add creaminess and complexity to the wine, but the vineyard sourcing is impeccable. 

“We use Hudson Vineyard Carneros for our Sauvignon Blanc,” Pott explained to us. “Hudson is a very cool site and ideal for Sauvignon Blanc. The Semillon comes from Bavarian Lion Vineyard at the base of Mount St. Helena in Knight’s Valley, across the street from Peter Michael. This is also a cold site where the coastal fog comes along the Russian River to cool the valley.”

The result of that combination is a wine that is easily one of the best Sauvignon Blanc-dominant blends in Napa. It’s also, once you meet Aaron Pott, a wine that perfectly ties together his technical expertise with the unfettered joy he takes in crafting it. 

“The name Dissonance comes from the fact that we only made red wines and no whites at Blackbird. When this white came along it was like a pianist suddenly discovering the black keys on a piano, and the horizons were readjusted.”

That sort of passion, of go-for-broke joyousness, comes through in Pott’s wines, too. The 2017 Blackbird Dissonance is a delicious example, a ringing guitar chord of a wine, the music-loving Pott might say, and one whose memory lingers long after the generous finish finally fades away.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 13.20%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• 85% Sauvignon Blanc15% Sémillon
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Stelvin