2023 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

In 2023 the vintage was simply the best we’ve experienced from this vineyard, and the grapes were incredibly flavorful with good acidity, lovely aromas, and ripe Chenin Blanc varietal flavors.  We picked at night to keep the grapes as cold as possible and pressed the grapes to our egg-shaped concrete fermenter (known as “Black Bart”) immediately. As is our style, we fermented the grapes on the native yeasts found on the grape skins.  The fermentation took off slowly and progressed perfectly for almost 25 days. We left the wine on its lees for toasty flavors and rich texture.

We love to bottle our white wines as soon as possible to keep the freshness and liveliness of the wine intact.  We bottled in late February after harvest, and from the start, we’ve been excited at the richness, velvety texture, and wonderful aromatics of the wine. 

Production: 455 cases

Tasting Notes