2024 Avenius Sauvignon Blanc
STYLE
Shari Avenius planted these vines in 1996. Old vines make wines that are more intellectual and contemplative. This wine demands one’s attention like classic jazz and opera. Sunnier and drier than usual, the grapes attained a high degree of ripeness making for some very concentrated wines.
FOOD PAIRINGS
Frankly, this intensity of this wine makes it challenging to pair with food. Rich but simple seafood works best. Sashimi, or Uni Nigiri (sea urchin) for something less routine.
VINEYARD
Avenius Vineyard is owned and operated by Shari Avenius, who has worked with Linden Vineyards since the 1980s. It is located on the Blue Ridge one half mile north of the winery at an elevation of 1,300 feet on a steep northeast facing slope. Soils are well-drained rocky greenstone and shale. The vines were planted in 1996 and are trained on the French lyre trellising system. Clone is unknown.
VINTAGE
Hot and dry sums up most of the growing season. The wines reflect this with weight, density, and heft.
Bud break was a week earlier than normal, but we may have to soon redefine normal. May started out hot and dry. Spotted Lanternfly nymphs hatched on May 3. Mid-May became damp. Variable conditions continued through early June. Chardonnay bloom was inconsistent, but conditions were ideal for Sauvignon Blanc.
Mid-summer was very hot and dry. Younger vines show stress signs. Berries grew slowly. The start of veraison was July 24, about a week earlier than normal. 2024 seemed in many ways a repeat of 2023.
On August 8 Hurricane Debby broke a prolonged drought with 3" of rain. This resulted in swelling of the berries and some dilution, but a week of sun, wind and low humidity set the vines back on track.
Cool nights and sunny breezy days made for easy picking. However the 'whiplash" weather of the previous few months had confused the vines. Flavors, acidities, and sugars were inconsistent. Learning from last year's experience the decision was to pick on the early side which resulted on more balanced, finessed wines.
Avenius Sauvignon Blanc was picked on August 27, one of our earliest harvest dates in history.
WINEMAKING
The focus of making Avenius Sauvignon Blanc is to showcase textural density and complexity that comes from the Avenius site. Retaining varietal character is not a goal. Terroir trumps variety. The chilled grapes are sorted, destemmed, lightly crushed and pressed and then the juice is allowed to settle overnight. VL3 yeast starts fermentation immediately. The wine fermented for about 30 days at 68F (20C) in old 500-liter puncheons. The wine was aged on lees for 10 months. Bottled in August 2025. Alcohol is 13.7%. 1608 bottles produced. This wine will drink well from 2026 to 2029.
Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2024 Vintage | 2024 Avenius Sauvignon Blanc