The 1997 Sauvignon Blanc Potter Valley has those honeyed, white corn, waxy nectarine notes, with medium to full-bodied flavors, gorgeously fresh acidity, and lots of fig and melon. It is a remarkable Sauvignon Blanc that tastes young in spite of already being 11 years of age! The reclusive and idiosyncratic Terry Leighton continues to release his wines a good ten years later than just about anybody else in California. He also continues to turn out one of the finest Sauvignon Blancs and longest-lived Chardonnays.Tel. (415) 883-3543; Fax (925) 283-2909

The 1990 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve should be inserted as a ringer in a blind tasting of top white Graves such as Laville-Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion-Blanc - it is that exceptional. There are abundant aromas of honeyed fruit, some subtle, smoky, herbaceous scents, and layers of concentrated, crisp, marvelously well-focused fruit. This opulent yet dry, exceptional wine can be drunk now or cellared for 7-10 years. It is a brilliant achievement that is unrivaled in the New World. It would seem illogical that a full-time microbiologist, who is working part-time out of a warehouse in Novato, produces some of California's most profound and long-lived wines. Kalin makes what is unquestionably the finest Sauvignon Blanc in California. I have had it in blind tastings against the likes of such Bordeaux thoroughbreds as Fieuzal, Haut-Brion Blanc, and Laville-Haut-Brion, and it inevitably places first or second as one of the most complex and richest wines. I still have bottles of their sumptuous 1984 Reserve Sauvignon, which is magnificent, and the 1985 Reserve Sauvignon, both of which remain adolescents in terms of development.