2021 T. Berkley 'Norgard' Chenin Blanc

"I launched T. Berkley Wines in 2016 with the longer vision of a treatise in Cabernet Franc, a grape that both inspired my winemaking journey and that I feel does not receive the attention that it deserves for all of its undeniable potential. I’ve spent years visiting the Loire Valley and tasting the spectrum of wines made there, and access to a selection of terroir-driven grapes has been integral to my process.

As the concept concretized, I was offered the opportunity to purchase old vine Chenin Blanc, and my focus was further honed – wines inspired by the best of the Loire, made under the California sunshine. Each vintage, I produce a handful of core wines applying my philosophy of minimal intervention, letting the sites and the varietal characteristics speak for themselves. The project is named in honor of my maternal grandfather Jack Berkley, for whom I am named and at whose side I spent so many of the formative years of my life."

These vines, planted in 1980, are a throwback to a more rustic time in California grape growing. Quadrilaterally trained and utilizing the “California sprawl” trellis, these old vines still thrive in the silty Mendocino County soils outside Ukiah. Minimally intervened with and farmed organically, the vines year in and year out produce some of the most outstanding Chenin Blanc in the state.

The grapes for this wine were hand-picked intentionally at lower brix, foot-tread, and left on skins for up to a day before being pressed and settled overnight. Fermentation took place in a mix of neutral French Oak barrels, stainless-steel barrels, and a concrete egg, and the wine was then aged on lees 12 months, and in tank (off lees) for 3 more. The resultant wine has beautiful, vibrant acidity, and excellent phenolic structure with notes of honeycomb, lemon curd, and lanolin. 210 Cases Produced.