Stagiaire - 'Sufficiently Whelming' - Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay - Redwood Valley, Mendocino, CA - 2022

Really not a good name anymore for what is consistently a very finessed white wine of ancient Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from Redwood Valley. Direct to press and in barrel for a year.

FIrst off, I think I should acknowledge that this name is misleading. Intentionally so I think, but I can’t really remember now as the reasons have changed over time for how it got the name and how it stuck. But this is consistently one of my favorite white natural wines from California, and the wines I made in my first vintage with the fruit, 2019, are still improving and thrilling those that have had the foresight and patience to hold some back(for reference the 2019 clear glass bottling was tank fermented and barrel aged for 7 months. The brown glass bottling was barrel fermented and aged for two years)
Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from vines planted in the 40s at Lolonis in Redwood Valley. Organic and dry farmed. The owners are finally moving away from tilling after many conversations and sharings of books and presentations. This is a quite radical move for organic farmers in Mendocino county, where the standard operating procedure is to break the soil constantly to keep any plant ‘competition’ from growing. This eastern edge of the valley is blessed with frequent bathings of cold and wet ocean air depositing blankets of fog that burn off late mornings and slow the ripening of the grapes and relieve the vines of water stress. The sauvignon blanc here always gets a bit of botrytits if allowed to ripen fully, but in 2022 there was more of this magical fungus than I have ever seen at this site. Likely a product of the heatwave that the vines sat through.
The Chardonnay was picked on day 3 of the September heat event. The Sav Blanc trailed by a few weeks. Both went through a long and soft pressing. The Sav Blanc fermenting in stainless before going to neutral barrels. The Chardonnay fermented and aged in puncheons. After a year in wood they were blended in equal parts and bottled following a short rest in stainless.
There is weight and body from the botrytis laden Sauvignon along with all of the character the fungus brings: saffron, marmalade, glycerol. But there is more than enough focus and lift. The bottles open with that fancy flinty reduction that we love and know from our favorite whites of Burgundy and Jura. Though as typing this, I’m also thinking of some great Chenins from the Loire which also may be predisposed to some botrytis. In fact when I first started working with this site, I thought the Sauvignon was possibly Chenin.
nothing added or removed. no sulfur. not contract or custom crush.

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‘STAGIAIRE’
The French word for apprentice and what the winemaker I worked for in Jura called me when other local vigneron asked who the hell the guy speaking really bad French was.
The name encapsulates humility, impermanence, and the pursuit of knowledge.
I work with vineyards that are organic at a minimum, actively seeking thoughtfull and regenerative practices instead of recipe farming. Most importantly I want to work with good people that are trying to farm with nature instead of against it. Starting in 2020 I am farming a few parcels of my own.
If we have good grapes, why add anything to them in the cellar?