2023 Picayune Cellars Sauvignon Blanc North Coast 750 ml

Seven years ago, we had to fight off the likes of Gramercy Tavern and The French Laundry for our first tiny allocation of Picayune. Every year since, we’ve had to muscle out others for bigger and bigger allocations—which can never quite keep up with the Picayune fan base!

And Claire Weinkauf’s stunning Sauvignon Blanc might be her best value of the lot. The former right-hand-woman for 100-point legend Paul Hobbs, she’s capable of conjuring magical value from Napa and Sonoma—like this bottle—which is why her tasting room sells most of her output.

Fermented and aged in a mixture of stainless steel barrels for brightness and neutral French oak for texture, it takes the lively vibrancy of the grape and adds a soupçon of richness that highlights its origins from top sites in Napa and on Sonoma Mountain—and elevates this bottle to a quality-level probably twice its current price.

Picayune’s astounding quality-to-price ratio is thanks to vintner Claire Weinkauf, whose résumé is as diverse as it is impressive. After earning a wine degree in Chile and working harvests in Saint-Émilion, she met 100-point winemaker Paul Hobbs, who hired her at the renowned Viña Cobos in Argentina and at his eponymous California winery. 

“Before anything, I’m a wine drinker,” Claire told us recently as she explained Picayune’s excellent price-to-quality ratio. “But when I got to California, I was shocked at how expensive good wines were. Picayune was born after too many bottles of really great, expensive wines. I want to drink really well, without declaring bankruptcy.”