Lot 62 — 2025 St. Helena Malvasia Bianca
Lot Overview
- Region: St. Helena, Napa Valley
- Vintage: 2025
- Varietal: 100% Malvasia Bianca (estate fruit)
- Fermentation: Stainless steel
- Alcohol: 13%
- Cases Available: ~125
- Cam Price: ~$10/bottle ($119/case)
- Retail Estimate: ~$35–$40/bottle (tasting room)
- Claude’s Source Guess: Ballentine Vineyards — Betty’s Vineyard, St. Helena
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: 2026–2029 (drink young and fresh)
Cameron’s Release Notes
About a decade ago, I was introduced to Malvasia Bianca grown on the island of Salina, just off the coast of Greece (where Malvasia is said to have originated), and have been a huge fan ever since. Highly aromatic with a bright, juicy mid-palate, it’s remarkably refreshing “drink all day” wine with a moderate alcohol of 11.5%–13%. Like the kids say, “crushable!”
Today’s offering, Lot 62 2025 St. Helena Malvasia Bianca is sourced domestically from the estate-vineyards of one of the stewards of the varietal in Napa Valley who sells a variety of Malvasia-based wines. Like their still Malvasia Bianca offering, Lot 62 is bone-dry with compelling aromatics, mouthwatering mid-palate and a long-lingering, ultra-clean finish. Delightful and delicious and perfect Spring/Summer wine!
It’s a steal at $119/case! Basically, 75% off the tasting room price.
Tasting Notes
If you liked our Lot 28 Gewurztraminer, you are going to love Lot 62 Malvasia Bianca. The aromatics are fantastic, effusive with jasmine and honeysuckle blossoms haloing pretty peach and honey notes all underpinned with lemon-lime soda aromas. Fantastic nerve and tension on the palate with ample weight anchoring a ripe panoply of orchard fruit echoing over lemon-lime dusted acidity in a long, super-pretty finish. Juicy, mouthwatering and energetic, Lot 62 is decidedly food-friendly and a compelling sipper for a warm day in the sun.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status
2025 vintage — allow 30–60 days before opening. Best from Summer 2026.
Claude’s Source Guess: Ballentine Vineyards — Betty’s Vineyard, St. Helena
The clues here stack cleanly in one direction. Cam specifies 100% St. Helena estate fruit from a producer who is a “steward of the varietal in Napa Valley” and “sells a variety of Malvasia-based wines.” That is an unusually narrow description for a grape that almost nobody grows in Napa Valley, let alone with enough commitment to produce multiple expressions of it.
Ballentine Vineyards in St. Helena fits every element. They planted Malvasia Bianca specifically because of their Italian immigrant heritage — great-great-grandfather Libero Pocai came from Lucca, Italy — and they’ve been cultivating it on their Betty’s Vineyard since 2006. More importantly, they produce the varietal in several distinct styles: a bone-dry still wine, a frizzante (lightly sparkling) version, and a full méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine, making them genuinely one of the only Napa producers to offer a “variety of Malvasia-based wines” from estate fruit. Their tasting room sits right on their estate property in St. Helena, and wines are sold through the tasting room and wine club — the typical pricing lands around $35–$40/bottle, which tracks with the “75% off tasting room price” math at $10/bottle.
The flavor profile — jasmine, honeysuckle, peach, honey, lemon-lime acidity — is precisely the Malvasia Bianca profile that reviewers have consistently described from Ballentine’s Betty’s Vineyard bottlings. One early reviewer noted it had “all the character and complexity of a nice Gewurztraminer,” which echoes Cam’s own Gewurztraminer comparison directly.
V. Sattui is worth a brief mention as an alternative — they’re also DTC-only, St. Helena estate, Italian heritage, and make a wide portfolio of 60+ wines including Italian varietals. However, there’s no strong documentation of them making multiple Malvasia expressions or specifically championing the varietal the way Ballentine has.
✅ Confidence: High on Ballentine Vineyards. The Italian heritage angle, the multiple Malvasia expression detail, the St. Helena estate footprint, and the tasting-room-price math all converge on them specifically.
Drink Window
Early Enjoyment: Summer 2026 — the jasmine, peach and lemon-lime aromatics will be at their most expressive in the first 1–2 years.
Peak Drinking: 2026–2028. Malvasia Bianca at 13% with stainless fermentation is built to be enjoyed fresh. The aromatics fade faster than the structure builds.
Hold Potential: 2029 at the outside, and only if you enjoy the waxy, honeyed tertiary character that develops with a few years of age. This is not a cellar wine — it’s a porch wine.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2026–2029 (drink young and drink often)