Chenin Blanc 2017

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