2025 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge Gold Medal
Tasting Notes
Uboldi Vineyard is located at the base of Sonoma Mountain with rocky volcanic soils. The Sauvignon Blanc vines are over 30 years old, running in perfectly sun-filled north-to-south rows. This terroir lends a fresh and vibrant nose of tropical fruits and florals in this refreshing Sauvignon Blanc.
Specs
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
Vineyard: Uboldi Vineyard
Harvest Date: 9/23/2023
Acid: 6.3 g/L
pH: 3.16
Aging: 43% in Concrete Egg, Balance in Neutral French Oak
Bottling Date: 01/09/2025
Alcohol: 13.5%
Production: 353 Cases
Whatās Included
6-bottles:
6x 2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley Case:
Tin Barn Vineyards celebrates those hidden treasures that lie off map. Our wines highlight the true character of Sonoma County. High atop the ridges of the Sonoma Coast, just off Tin Barn Road, lies a remote plot of Syrah vines. From this fog-enshrouded slope, we sourced grapes for our very first wine and derived inspiration for our name.
In the years since, winemaker Michael Lancaster and his business partners have made a fitting home in our own ātin barnāāa warehouse in rural Sonoma that serves as both cellar space and tasting room. Here, weāve joined with fellow artisan winemakers to form the collective known as Eighth Street Wineries.
Come visit sometime! Remember, though, that a map will only get you so far.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Hello friends! Delighted to be your friendly neighborhood Lab Rat for this offer. We got the bottle on Thursday afternoon, with perfect timingāweāre headed off for vacation this (Saturday) morning! So a wonderful way to start off our holiday, but also a situation with someā¦interesting consequences for our tasting.
After a few hours in the refrigerator to bring the wine down from the absurd DC heat weāre having, we popped the bottle around 9 PM. Initial aromas were honeysuckle, melon, and a certain funky, savory note that Jenny described as hay and that reminded me very vaguely of a mango chutney. It tasted along the same lines, expanding on the floral and stone fruit flavors. Our initial temperature was too cold, in fact, and the aroma very much improved as it warmed up a bit.
As a standalone sipping wine, this bottle hit the nail on the head. But given the savory aspect we noted (which on its own gave the wine some interesting character), it seemed worth trying it with food. This is where the problems began. Ordinarily, weād cook something or order takeout to pair with the wine. But in preparation for going on vacation, we had eaten just about everything out of the refrigerator, and already made non-Sauv-Blanc-appropriate lunch and dinner plans for Friday.
Thus began our quest for the holy grail random leftovers around the house that would go well with this wine. (In other words, do not take the below to indicate much about the nature of this wine; it says more about the odd things we have at home.)
Old sharp cheddar, unknown type: Not so great, made the wine taste fairly astringent.
Kirkland Signature green olives: The combination somehow tastes like cheese.
Sour cream and onion potato chips: Makes the wine taste like vegetables.
Spoonful of chili crisp: I was hoping that the wine would cut through the heat, but it made the chili even more spicy.
Unsalted almonds from the drugstore: This tastes fine, which is not saying much since the almonds taste like nothing.
Old, wilted endive: Nope, it just enhanced the bitterness of the leaves.
Based on these preliminary results, I came to two hypotheses: (1) fatty or oily foods arenāt this wineās pairing of choice, and (2) the wine acts as a force multiplier on whatever flavors are in the food.
The published recommendation is to serve the Tin Barn with sushi or other fish. Iād bet money that this would be amazing, particularly with scallops or other shellfish, as the wine would dial up their subtle sweetness and brininess. But Iām not buying a lobster at 11 PM. What else do we have around to test this theory?
Reeseās peanut butter cup: Surprisingly decent. Obviously too sweet, washing out the subtle floral notes of the wine.
Mr. Goodbar: Similar results. Nuts seem to work well.
XO sauce (dried scallops, ham, and Chinese spices): Again not bad. The wine enhances the seafood aspect of the sauce, but plays less well with the star anise and other spices.
Thai basil chocolate chip ice cream: Again pretty good, though the basil tastes a bit strange against the wine.
So weāre on the right trackāI just need something ocean-flavored with a hint of sugar but not too much. Is there anything left in this house? Scraping through the snack bin, after several minutes I finally come upon:
Japanese nori-wrapped rice crackers: Bingo. The seaweed works perfectly with the wine, and the hint of sweetness from the rice crackers brings out the white fruit flavors.
If there are any lessons to be drawn from this sequence of events, they are (1) pair this wine with some decent food, and (2) keep a wide variety of snacks at homeāyou never know when you will called to serve.
Many thanks to Alice, WD, and the WCC folks! We had a great time raiding the pantry for this. Iāll leave you with one final note:
Oreo cookies inexplicably hidden, probably by the kids, in the bag of rice crackers: Surprisingly tasty with the wine! Though as a general matter I wouldnāt recommend nori-flavored Oreos.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Tin Barn Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc - $30 = 16.66%
We cut this review down to the wireā¦our Lab Rat was supposed to arrive on Thursday by 4PM, then we received an alert that it was delayed and coming Friday by 1PM, and then another delay and it would arrive by 8PM on Friday. Wellā¦ our wine arrived on Friday at 6:50PM.
Once the delivery man dropped off the box my husband quickly unpacked it and put it in the chiller to cool. We received a beautiful bottle of 2023 Tin Bar Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma Valley. I decided to pair it with fresh scallops and sauteed green beans. On the nose we both got a lot of citrus and I even got a hint of honeysuckle. The first sip was by alone and we both enjoyed it very much. Typically we donāt both pick up different tastes, but with this wine we agreed on the front we got melon and slight citrus. The finish was more herbal and a hint of pineapple. The wine paired well with the seafood. We sat on the back patio with a glass after dinner to watch the sunset and it was just as nice as the first sip. We would definitely recommend this wine for a hot summer day or paired with a fresh catch. It would be a great value at $20 a bottle.
Reverse Wine Snob in March:
The 2023 Tin Barn Vineyards Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc begins with a very attractive and enticing aroma full of tropical fruit notes, melon, lemon, lime and other citrus plus some pleasing grassy and herbal notes. Yum.
The wine tastes rich, fresh, juicy, crisp, tangy and delicious and showcases its lovely, smooth and round, yet still lively, mouthfeel. Featuring similar flavors to the nose with lots of grapefruit and pineapple, it also has a touch of a wonderful, herbal almost jalapeno-like peppery note. With great depth of flavor and great balance this is just a really lovely example of Sauvignon Blanc that is super drinkable and delicious. Double yum. It ends with a dry, very long, lip-smackingly good finish. Triple Yum! If youāre a fan of extremely well made and delicious white wines, this is the perfect one to stock up on for spring and summer.
RWS also notes the vineyard is tended by Chuy Ordaz
The bottling date, pulled from winery website, relatively recent if accurate.
Unofficial Labrat reporting in at the request of @Losthighwayz as I happened to get this in one of the recent mystery cases. First of all, no wrapper or foil or anything on the cork and a very cute cork! Just appears that it is going to be a quality wine. Opened pretty cold but it is a very hot evening here. Very, very distinctive grapefruit and I would say hints of pear, melon and maybe honeysuckle on first sniff. Its got a very different initial taste than your average sauvignon blanc, but still very obvious it is one. Initially a lot of acid and burns a little on the back of the throat, with a slight bit of bitterness for aftertaste. But you can tell it is quality juice and probably just needs to open and warm up a bit. No food as we already had our dinner of pulled pork, corn and fries (smoked the pork on Thursday). I think it could have gone well with the smokiness of the pork. We are sitting out on the back deck and it is still 86 degrees F at 8:30 in the evening and this is a very refreshing summer evening wine with a pretty complex taste as it warms up. Still very floral and citrusy and great by itself on this warm summer evening. If you are on the fence and a fan of Sauvignon Blancs, I would say give this one a chance.
2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley
2025 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge Gold Medal
Tasting Notes
Specs
Whatās Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$336.00/Case for 2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley at Tin Barn Vineyards
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jul 14 - Wednesday, Jul 16
2023 Tin Barn Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc
6 bottles for $89.99 $15/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $149.99 $12.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2023 Tin Barn Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley
Hello friends! Delighted to be your friendly neighborhood Lab Rat for this offer. We got the bottle on Thursday afternoon, with perfect timingāweāre headed off for vacation this (Saturday) morning! So a wonderful way to start off our holiday, but also a situation with someā¦interesting consequences for our tasting.
After a few hours in the refrigerator to bring the wine down from the absurd DC heat weāre having, we popped the bottle around 9 PM. Initial aromas were honeysuckle, melon, and a certain funky, savory note that Jenny described as hay and that reminded me very vaguely of a mango chutney. It tasted along the same lines, expanding on the floral and stone fruit flavors. Our initial temperature was too cold, in fact, and the aroma very much improved as it warmed up a bit.
As a standalone sipping wine, this bottle hit the nail on the head. But given the savory aspect we noted (which on its own gave the wine some interesting character), it seemed worth trying it with food. This is where the problems began. Ordinarily, weād cook something or order takeout to pair with the wine. But in preparation for going on vacation, we had eaten just about everything out of the refrigerator, and already made non-Sauv-Blanc-appropriate lunch and dinner plans for Friday.
Thus began our quest for
the holy grailrandom leftovers around the house that would go well with this wine. (In other words, do not take the below to indicate much about the nature of this wine; it says more about the odd things we have at home.)Old sharp cheddar, unknown type: Not so great, made the wine taste fairly astringent.
Kirkland Signature green olives: The combination somehow tastes like cheese.
Sour cream and onion potato chips: Makes the wine taste like vegetables.
Spoonful of chili crisp: I was hoping that the wine would cut through the heat, but it made the chili even more spicy.
Unsalted almonds from the drugstore: This tastes fine, which is not saying much since the almonds taste like nothing.
Old, wilted endive: Nope, it just enhanced the bitterness of the leaves.
Based on these preliminary results, I came to two hypotheses: (1) fatty or oily foods arenāt this wineās pairing of choice, and (2) the wine acts as a force multiplier on whatever flavors are in the food.
The published recommendation is to serve the Tin Barn with sushi or other fish. Iād bet money that this would be amazing, particularly with scallops or other shellfish, as the wine would dial up their subtle sweetness and brininess. But Iām not buying a lobster at 11 PM. What else do we have around to test this theory?
Reeseās peanut butter cup: Surprisingly decent. Obviously too sweet, washing out the subtle floral notes of the wine.
Mr. Goodbar: Similar results. Nuts seem to work well.
XO sauce (dried scallops, ham, and Chinese spices): Again not bad. The wine enhances the seafood aspect of the sauce, but plays less well with the star anise and other spices.
Thai basil chocolate chip ice cream: Again pretty good, though the basil tastes a bit strange against the wine.
So weāre on the right trackāI just need something ocean-flavored with a hint of sugar but not too much. Is there anything left in this house? Scraping through the snack bin, after several minutes I finally come upon:
Japanese nori-wrapped rice crackers: Bingo. The seaweed works perfectly with the wine, and the hint of sweetness from the rice crackers brings out the white fruit flavors.
If there are any lessons to be drawn from this sequence of events, they are (1) pair this wine with some decent food, and (2) keep a wide variety of snacks at homeāyou never know when you will called to serve.
Many thanks to Alice, WD, and the WCC folks! We had a great time raiding the pantry for this. Iāll leave you with one final note:
Oreo cookies inexplicably hidden, probably by the kids, in the bag of rice crackers: Surprisingly tasty with the wine! Though as a general matter I wouldnāt recommend nori-flavored Oreos.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Tin Barn Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc - $30 = 16.66%
We cut this review down to the wireā¦our Lab Rat was supposed to arrive on Thursday by 4PM, then we received an alert that it was delayed and coming Friday by 1PM, and then another delay and it would arrive by 8PM on Friday. Wellā¦ our wine arrived on Friday at 6:50PM.
Once the delivery man dropped off the box my husband quickly unpacked it and put it in the chiller to cool. We received a beautiful bottle of 2023 Tin Bar Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma Valley. I decided to pair it with fresh scallops and sauteed green beans. On the nose we both got a lot of citrus and I even got a hint of honeysuckle. The first sip was by alone and we both enjoyed it very much. Typically we donāt both pick up different tastes, but with this wine we agreed on the front we got melon and slight citrus. The finish was more herbal and a hint of pineapple. The wine paired well with the seafood. We sat on the back patio with a glass after dinner to watch the sunset and it was just as nice as the first sip. We would definitely recommend this wine for a hot summer day or paired with a fresh catch. It would be a great value at $20 a bottle.
Still Friday? No? Oh wellā¦
Reverse Wine Snob in March:
The 2023 Tin Barn Vineyards Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc begins with a very attractive and enticing aroma full of tropical fruit notes, melon, lemon, lime and other citrus plus some pleasing grassy and herbal notes. Yum.
The wine tastes rich, fresh, juicy, crisp, tangy and delicious and showcases its lovely, smooth and round, yet still lively, mouthfeel. Featuring similar flavors to the nose with lots of grapefruit and pineapple, it also has a touch of a wonderful, herbal almost jalapeno-like peppery note. With great depth of flavor and great balance this is just a really lovely example of Sauvignon Blanc that is super drinkable and delicious. Double yum. It ends with a dry, very long, lip-smackingly good finish. Triple Yum! If youāre a fan of extremely well made and delicious white wines, this is the perfect one to stock up on for spring and summer.
RWS also notes the vineyard is tended by Chuy Ordaz
The bottling date, pulled from winery website, relatively recent if accurate.
fwiw
I received this exact bottle in one of my mystery cases. Trying to decide if I want to become an unofficial labrat this evening or not.
@normanl0 please do! I need one more to push me over
@losthighwayz Alright, what better chance than now
. Anything specific you want to know about it?
@normanl0 awesome thank you! Would you say it has zippy acidity? I prefer SBs that are lean and crisp. Thoughts on the neutral oak on this one?
WORKER BEES! HERCULES! TURKEY GREASE! AWESOME!
@losthighwayz definitely not oaky, i would say pretty zippy and definitely crisp!
/giphy caustic-blessed-income
Unofficial Labrat reporting in at the request of @Losthighwayz as I happened to get this in one of the recent mystery cases. First of all, no wrapper or foil or anything on the cork and a very cute cork! Just appears that it is going to be a quality wine. Opened pretty cold but it is a very hot evening here. Very, very distinctive grapefruit and I would say hints of pear, melon and maybe honeysuckle on first sniff. Its got a very different initial taste than your average sauvignon blanc, but still very obvious it is one. Initially a lot of acid and burns a little on the back of the throat, with a slight bit of bitterness for aftertaste. But you can tell it is quality juice and probably just needs to open and warm up a bit. No food as we already had our dinner of pulled pork, corn and fries (smoked the pork on Thursday). I think it could have gone well with the smokiness of the pork. We are sitting out on the back deck and it is still 86 degrees F at 8:30 in the evening and this is a very refreshing summer evening wine with a pretty complex taste as it warms up. Still very floral and citrusy and great by itself on this warm summer evening. If you are on the fence and a fan of Sauvignon Blancs, I would say give this one a chance.
