2021 ChardonnayOwnrooted, 50 year old Wente

While we have released an estate Chardonnay in the past, it has previously been a blend of old vines and younger plantings. This is the first time we are releasing a Chardonnay that is entirely made from the original vines planted on our ranch 50 years ago when Calaveras County legend Barden Stevenot owned the property. Moreover, these are the only vines in our vineyard that are own-rooted (not grafted onto a phylloxera resistant rootstock — the contemporary method for growing grapes). Because of this planting, Rorick Heritage Vineyard is now recognised by the Historic Vineyard Society of California — a non profit dedicated to the preservation of California’s historic vineyards.

The ‘Wente’ clone in California is a clonal selection that came from Burgundy and first appeared in California vineyards in 1912. It is now the source material for 80% of chardonnay plantings in the state today. However, having 50 year old, own-rooted vines to make wine from is quite uncommon, and our vineyard could quite possibly have the oldest own-rooted Chardonnay in California.

The grapes for this wine were gently pigaged before being pressed and racked off its heavy lees into neutral 227L barriques, and left untouched until bottling 3 years later.