Haarmeyer Cellars - "St. Rey" En Foudre Chenin Blanc (Wilson Vineyard Clarksburg) 2022 750ml (12.67% ABV)

Haarmeyer Cellars is a family team, composed by winemaker Craig, his son
Alex, wife Kelly, and daughter Marian. “Wine is an agricultural product that wants to do its own thing, and we should let it [...] We add nothing [to our wines] but elbow grease”. 

Made up entirely of Chenin Blanc from the Wilson Vineyard deep in the Clarksburg AVA on Merritt Island, the vines are 20+ years old and grow upon beds of silty clay loam, trained to bilateral cordon. The warm climate is tempered by a marine breeze from the San Francisco/San Pablo Bay. 

just... wow. New World Chenin to rival the best from the old world, but presents more like a top notch white Burgundy than most Chenin we taste. Salty popcorn kernels, ocean spray, restraint (check that meticulous & low ABV!) and sophistication. Green apple skin, lime Freeze-Pop, crushed stone, mouthwatering acidity. This is a real treat for any Chablis or Pouilly Fuisse fan.

very allocated, 125 cases produced each year, we are fortunate to have received one of them (the NYC distributor could only get 14)

region: Merritt Island, Clarksburg, CA, USA

varietal: Chenin Blanc

style: white

farming/cellar: organic farming, the fruit is foot trodden and then basket pressed. The juice was exposed to oxygen and racked to tank for an ambient cellar temp overnight settle. The next day it was racked into a French oak oval shaped 10HL cask where it fermented spontaneously and without any corrections to chemistry or any added nutrients. Malolactic fermentation was also spontaneous. The wine spent nearly one year sur lie, no stirring, and was bottled without fining or filtration. No sulphur was added until bottling at a rate of 20ppm. The finished wine has zero free sulphur

pairing: crab legs, cheese plate, veggie spring rolls