2020 Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg

History

We have long been fans of Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, and over the years have searched for local Chenin Blanc grapes to make a crisp, dry wine from this classic varietal.  We discovered an ideal vineyard in Clarksburg California, home to the vast majority of Chenin Blanc grapes grown in California.  This vineyard is a bit southwest of Sacramento, in the Sacramento River delta, where cool breezes from the San Francisco Bay cool the grapes creating hot afternoons and cool evenings that make for ideal conditions to grow Chenin Blanc. We use a 500-gallon egg-shaped concrete fermentation vessel to highlight the minerality of the grapes, and the results have exceeded our expectations. 

Production

The 2020 vintage was on for the record books, with fire and smoke continually threatening grapes throughout northern California. Luckily, the fires stayed away from Clarksburg and the prevailing winds kept the smoke away as well. We were able to harvest perfectly ripe Chenin Blanc, with flavors and acidity in balance.  We picked  at night to keep them as cold as possible and pressed the grapes to our egg-shaped concrete fermenter immediately. As is our style, we fermented the grapes on the native yeasts found on the grape skins.  The fermentation took off like a rocket, and the wine quickly reached dryness.  We love to bottle our white wines as soon as possible,  to keep the freshness and liveliness of the wine intact.  We bottled in February after harvest, and have enjoyed seeing the wine develop complexity in bottle. 

Production: 482 cases

Tasting Notes