Lieu Dit - 'Bien Nacido' - Melon de Bourgogne - Santa Maria Valley, CA - 2021

From Bien Nacido: a foundational vineyard of the Santa Maria Valley, this is a crisp, mineral-driven wine with captivating brininess. Think: lime leaf and pear, wet stone and sea spray.
Here in California, to encounter Melon de Bourgogne - the grape of Muscadet - is exceedingly rare, and yet this fifty-year-old vineyard has always hidden in plain sight. (The vines’ origins involve a case of mistaken identity—a tale best shared over a glass of wine. Just ask us some time!)
Planted in 1973 on its own roots, this wine is at once a time capsule and just simply refreshing. As for its pairing—We aren’t rewriting the rules. Just look to our label.

LAST VINTAGE FROM THIS VINEYARD! VINES HAVE BEEN REMOVED!! ⚠️EXTINCT WINE HERE FOLKS!

Unified by the mysteries of wine

Lieu Dit is a partnership of longtime friends Eric Railsback and Justin Willett. The two met in Santa Barbara while Eric was finishing college and Justin was just beginning his career in winemaking. They were among a small group of young winemakers and restaurateurs in Santa Barbara unified by a common interest in wine and all its mysteries.
After countless bottles shared together and many trips to France, Railsback and Willett decided to found Lieu Dit in 2011 and focus it solely in the varieties indigenous to the Loire Valley, now grown in Santa Barbara County. The varied micro-climates and marine based soils of Santa Barbara County are ideally suited to this set of grapes. Lieu Dit centers on Sauvignon Blanc as well as limited bottlings of Melon de Bourgogne, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Rosé of Pinot Noir. Each vintage, the quest for purity, elegance, and balance in every wine is paramount.