Lail Vineyards Georgia Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Lail’s Graves-style Napa Sauvignon Blanc from the Inglenook family line — barrel-aged, mineral, built for the cellar.

Taste
Tangerine, stone fruit, Meyer lemon, and honeysuckle, with toasted brioche and a flinty, saline edge. Racy acidity under a silky, lees-rich texture.

Region
From Napa Valley, California. Robin Daniel Lail, whose great-granduncle Gustave Niebaum founded Inglenook in 1879, launched Lail Vineyards with her daughters in 1995; Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky make the wines.

About This Wine
Body: Medium body · Acidity: High, racy · Texture: Silky, lees-rich

Taste Profile

Source: Vivino community taste data (13 member taste ratings, all vintages).

Best For
Special-occasion seafood dinners, a collector’s white for the cellar, gifting a critic-acclaimed bottle, white Bordeaux comparison flights

For Who
White Bordeaux drinkers exploring Napa, collectors who cellar whites, Napa loyalists who know the Inglenook story, hosts pouring something rare

Similar To
If you like Peter Michael L’Après-Midi, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, or Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, this is the same barrel-fermented, age-worthy Graves register — built on Napa fruit and 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Pairing
Butter-poached lobster, grilled halibut, seared scallops, roast chicken with tarragon, aged goat cheese, Korean haemul-pajeon (seafood scallion pancake), soy-marinated crab (ganjang gejang)

Drink Window
Drink 2025–2035. Open now with 30 minutes of air; the acidity carries it through the decade.

Collector Note
Antonio Galloni scored the 2023 a perfect 100 points at Vinous — the winery calls it the first American Sauvignon Blanc to earn 100 from a leading critic — and Decanter’s Jonathan Cristaldi gave it 97. Only 473 cases were made in a long, cool Napa season. Buy 2–3: one now, the rest across the decade.

Mood
Luminous, precise, celebratory, heritage

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is Georgia different from typical Napa Sauvignon Blanc?
A: The 2023 was fermented and aged on its lees for 20 months in French oak, in the white Bordeaux (Graves) mold rather than the crisp steel-tank style. Expect texture, brioche, and flint alongside the citrus. Lail has made Georgia in this style since the 2002 vintage.

Q: Who is Georgia named after?
A: Georgia Eileen, whose birth opened the sixth generation of the family’s Napa Valley winemaking. The line runs back to Gustave Niebaum, who founded Inglenook in 1879, and through Robin Lail’s father, John Daniel Jr.

Q: Should I drink it now or cellar it?
A: Both work. It is open now with 30 minutes of air, and its acidity carries it through 2035. Serve at 50–55°F rather than ice-cold so the barrel texture shows.