Methode Sauvage Moonstones Chenin Blanc 2018

Moonstones is 100% Chenin Blanc sourced from the Vista Verde Vineyard in San Benito County, a limestone-rich site in California's Central Coast. The vines average 44 years old, grown in limestone and schist soils, farmed organically, and harvested by hand. At 12% ABV, the wine comes in well under the California norm for white wine.

In the cellar, Chad Hinds uses direct press, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in neutral oak, followed by aging in neutral barrels. The wine goes through natural malolactic fermentation and is bottled with no fining, no filtration, and minimal added sulfites at 20 mg/L total.

On the nose: dried flowers, flint, and a pronounced sea breeze salinity. The palate is smooth and textured with a honeyed weight balanced by high acidity and a saline finish. The winemaker describes it as carrying a heavy amplification of acid, dried flowers, and sea breeze salinity.

Methode Sauvage sources Chenin Blanc from across California, and San Benito County's limestone soils and cool Pacific winds channeled through the Gabilan Mountains make it a natural fit for the variety. Chenin Blanc from old vines on limestone in this region reads nothing like the bulk Central Valley versions historically labeled as California Chablis.