February 11, 2005 Dry Creek Vineyard recently released Sonoma County’s first Sauvignon Musqué, a unique selection of the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety. There are a small number of wineries in California that blend Musqué in their Sauvignon Blancs, but only two before Dry Creek have produced what the industry would consider varietal versions and they both are made with grapes grown in the central coast region.
 
Wineries cannot label the wine as Sauvignon Musqué because the Federal Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) does not officially recognize it as a true varietal. The agency requires wineries to call it Sauvignon Blanc. Call it what you will, Sauvignon Musqué is best described as a newly recognized selection, isolated from Sauvignon Blanc vines, though some would refer to it as a separate clone altogether. Dry Creek Vineyard named their wine Sauvignon Blanc, Taylor’s Vineyard Musqué.

Those familiar with the Musqué selection agree that it is truly unique. Its flavor profile does resemble Sauvignon Blanc, but with more perfumed, tropical and heady aromas and a touch more viscosity with flavors of guava, gooseberry, and exotic white grapefruit. Winery proprietor, Don Wallace, first experimented with the selection as an enhancement to the winery’s reserve style Fumé Blanc. With the winery’s decision to move away from reserves in favor of vineyard-designate wines, winemaker William Knuttel suggested the Musqué be bottled on its own since the selection was such a unique take on Sauvignon Blanc.
 

With a line-up that includes a California benchmark Fumé Blanc from Sonoma County, a highly regarded vineyard-designate (Estate DCV3 Fumé Blanc), and a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc (Soleil), adding a separate Musqué bottling is right in line with the winery’s history and tradition. It will come as no surprise to wine industry pundits that Dry Creek Vineyard is coming forward with another Sonoma County first in the Sauvignon Blanc category. Dry Creek was the first to plant Sauvignon Blanc in Dry Creek Valley in 1972 and the first in Sonoma County to label their dry Sauvignon Blanc Fumé Blanc with the 1972 vintage.