RZN - 'Lightning Issue - Special Edition' - Chenin Blanc - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2023

Notes from the Winery/Importer

2023 Chenin Blanc The "Lightning" Issue Special Edition (SE) Tres Hermanas Vineyard Certified Organic Grapes Santa Barbara County Alc. 11.5 % by vol. The Vintage: Overall we saw an early wet, cool, and longer growing season than last vintage. With the cooler overall temps for the region the grapes got to hang for the more traditional time on the vine. The abundant rain in the Winter/ Spring was very much needed and fully replenished the vineyard. The Process: The grapes were hand harvested at night and brought to the winery in the early morning. We dump the fruit into the bladder press and run the press cycle for about 3 hours. The pressed juice is pumped directly to a steel tank and settles for two days. It is racked to neutral French & Hungarian oak barrels for fermentation. We let the juice naturally ferment over the course of 5-6 weeks. Around the three week mark, we consolidate the four barrels down to three. From here we top every two weeks and let the wine evolve. After 4 months, we add a small amount of Sulfur to freeze the Chenin in time. This will stop/ slow down the oxidation of the wine and let it evolve just a bit more in barrel up until bottling. After being in barrel for 11 months, we rack the wine to tank and bottle unfined and unfiltered. The Wine: Smelly Smell- Lemon Rind, Zippy Mandarin, Citrus Tart, Bruised Peach Pit Tasty Taste- Laser Beams, Limed-Stones, Baby Silk Additional Notes: 80 cases produced Small amounts of Sulfur was added through time in barrel and just before bottling No stirring of the barrels Seriously Super Serious Chenin Minimal Intervention Winemaking - Less Is More

Notes on the Producer

What is RZN (reason)? RZN (reason) is a combo of all my passions loaded up into a wine label... Skateboarding, wine, food, baseball, soccer, photography, wood working, sustainability, you get the idea... Overall I want to share things that I think are fun, interesting and thought provoking. So hopefully my wines spark one, if not all those things! -Nate Axline - Founder/ Juicce Organizer/ Skateboarder