A Great White : The Robert Pepi Winery Tames the Savage Sauvignon Blanc

IT HAS NEVER been easy to produce fine Sauvignon Blanc, because the grape involved commonly imparts to the wine “savage” taste elements--from a mild grassiness to the flavor of asparagus juice. Thus, it is rare that a winery specializes in Sauvignon Blanc. But the Robert Pepi Winery in Napa Valley does so--with exceptionally good results.

Eighty-five percent of the winery’s total production is devoted to white wines, primarily Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, and Pepi considers the Sauvignon Blanc to be its flagship. The walls are covered with medals attesting to Pepi’s success, beginning with its first vintage in 1981.

Wine makers everywhere wrestle with taming the worrisome taste overtones of Sauvignon Blanc. I know of whole vineyards that have been T-bud grafted, whereby the top of the Sauvignon Blanc vines are cut off and replacement buds of another varietal are grafted in their place.

In my columns, I have mentioned new techniques such as leaf pulling and vine training to bring more air and sunlight to the grape clusters and eliminate the grassiness. These methods result in a wonderful melon, peach, fig or even ripe-lime fruitiness.

The Pepi winery uses these techniques and more. Its Sauvignon Blanc is styled in the French tradition, in which Semillon is blended.

The Sauvignon Blanc grapes are harvested at low sugar levels, which will give the wine a soft fruit quality. The wine then is blended with Semillon to give it texture and aging potential. The two varietals, which came to California in the 1880s from the famed Chateau d’Yquem vineyard in Bordeaux, are later married in 1,600-gallon French oak upright tanks to develop complexity. The vessels, much larger than the standard 50-gallon barrels, minimize the oak tastes that the wine would pick up in smaller barrels because less wine is exposed to the oak in the tanks. The wine emerges with an almost floral bouquet, light herbal tastes and a lush, savory roundness. It’s a winner every vintage. Trying the 1987 Robert Pepi Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($8.50) confirms this. Composed of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, the wine has a dry finish.

The Pepi family began growing grapes and making wine in the northern Italian region of Tuscany and the small town of Lucca, from which Robert A. Pepi’s parents emigrated in the early 1900s.

Continuing the family tradition, Robert and Aurora Pepi bought a 70-acre vineyard near Oakville in 1966. Studies indicated that Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes were especially well-suited to that site. The Pepi family grew grapes exclusively until 1979, when Robert’s son, Robert L. Pepi, and the family decided that they could afford to build a winery.

The younger Pepi, as wine maker, is also quite proud of his Cabernet Sauvignon, a 100% varietal produced from grapes grown at the Vine Hill Ranch, adjacent to Napa’s Martha’s Vineyard. Drinkable while still young--the 1984 vintage ($16), for example, has intense cedar, juniper and blackberry flavors--it ages to a softer, more mellow claret finesse.

Where you find the Robert Pepi Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, you’ll probably come upon the Chardonnay ($12) and Semillon ($8). The latter suggests the tastes of ripe peaches or melons. And the Chardonnay has apple and citrus flavors, with some buttery tastes from partial malolactic fermentation and brief time in fine French oak.