Justin Willett
Lieu Dit
This was the wine that opened our eyes to the potential of Chenin Blanc in California, a grape that's long served as fodder for mass-marketed grocery store wines. It’s only in the last few years, as the agricultural cycle finally catches up with drinkers’ growing taste for mineral purity, that American Chenin Blanc has really come into its own. Lieu Dit’s continues to be a benchmark. Justin ferments his using native yeasts in both tank and barrel, and then transfers the wine to neutral French oak to age for seven months. To optimize freshness, the wine is racked into stainless steel to settle prior to bottling.

Lieu Dit
Santa Barbara, CA