Notes from Elton Slone:
I can’t say with certainty when it occurred — the day or week that I simply stopped ordering domestic Sauvignon Blanc. Maybe it was during the Pandemic when the background distractions of a bustling restaurant disappeared. It made the limited options for a “crisp, racy, dry” white wine at a reasonable price on local wine lists even more dismaying. A glass for the oysters or the blackened prawns prior to hitting deeper waters on the list almost always boiled down to domestic Sauvignon Blanc in favor of a mass-produced Sancerre or an overpriced domestic Chardonnay.
The banal sameness of the wines, some commanding ridiculous prices, made me think that all of the wines originate from the same mega-vineyard at a secret location somewhere in Pope Valley. A little melon, a little grass, a dab of residual sugar, a little stainless ferment at low brix (harvested in mid-August to make that happen) and voilà, I give you Cali SB. That is not to say that I don’t enjoy Spottswoode, Eisele (see “ridiculous pricing” above), Crocker and Starr among other domestic Sauvignon Blancs that are well made, age worthy and site expressive; but the category itself is like that excruciating “Cars for Kids” commercial to my palate at this point. There’s no escaping the mundane, the same, the mediocrity of intention.
As the good book (of Elton) tells us, “Man shall not live by red alone.” We need great domestic white wines, and there are those that exist, but few outside of the Chardonnay arena in my opinion. Enter a resurgence of domestic interest in that upbeat, lean, vibrant beauty of a variety: Chenin Blanc. From the relative obscurity of the Loire Valley’s Anjou to Saumur to Vouvray to Savennieres, this Chenin variety child is the offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Trousseau (therefore a nephew of Cabernet Sauvignon in DNA terms). In the year 845 (that’s not a typo: there is no “1” before the 8) Chenin Blanc plantings were described in Loire Valley land records. It is a heritage variety in Western wine for certain. It has taken quite some time then for us Yankees to embrace this compelling variety here in California, in the Napa Valley in particular where stony soils make for the low yields that great Chenin Blanc requires.
After years of frustration with a block of Cabernet Sauvignon on our Winery Estate Vineyard, I decided to try something completely different. I first thought of budding in Chardonnay, but then had a glass of Ted Lemon’s Littorai Chenin Blanc from the Haven Vineyard in my club shipment. The wine was just electric with the Sonoma Coast in full display with beautiful acidity and length. I instantly thought about the possibilities for greatness on our Howell Mountain Vineyard where giant, red, volcanic rocks seem to spring up from around the vines like dandelions in the spring, and low-yield is what we do.
After blind sampling truckloads of unimposing Chenin Blancs from Clarksburg, CA (they were good, but not awe-inspiring) we hit upon the truly exceptional domestic examples: Littorai, Mondavi Sisters (Aloft), Chappellet, and Nigel Kinsman’s (Kinsman Eades) from Diamond Mountain. All are site expressive, complex and structured. They each share a major price tag as well, save for the Chappellet. At Robert Craig Winery we have finally arrived at our time for release after a three-year wait for the vines to be ready from the bud-over.
Simply put, I believe this is one of the most compelling white wines produced anywhere in California, and it certainly is at the top of the Chenin Blanc ladder. Don’t hesitate to snag some, there’s only a small amount available.
I look forward to hearing your feedback.
100% CHENIN BLANC | WINERY ESTATE VINEYARD
2024 Howell Mountain Chenin Blanc
This 2024 Chenin Blanc, Howell Mountain Estate is unapologetically high in acid as the PH values and TA would indicate. It is the sole member of the Chenin Blanc-Howell Mountain AVA Club. Our Chenin snaps and strains against the leash yet yields a completely exotic, harmonious journey into the lovely orchard and citrus fruit sitting on the mid palate ensconced by all of that structure and rocky soil pedigree. Whole cluster pressing and fermentation in neutral French Oak allow the energy of this rare white wine to emanate from the glass without overt interference. This wine is terrific upon release, but I expect it to cellar well for at least a decade while gaining gravitas and complexity.
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