Lolonis Vineyard Chardonnay, Redwood Valley 2024

jasmine • red currant

Vineyard

The Lolonis Vineyard’s old vine planting of Chardonnay may be the oldest extant in the US. Planted in the winter of 1946-7, this 3 acre block produces exceptionally concentrated and vibrantly interesting fruit. It has been farmed organically since the very beginning and is dry farmed.

In 2024, we picked just over a half ton of fruit from the entire block. Any other vineyard manager would have ripped this block out years ago, or started irrigating it, but the Lolonis family has shown incredible dedication to this piece of their family’s history.

Vinification

In 2024, I yielded a single barrel from the entire vineyard block. There are only 20 cases available for sale. This is also my last vintage making this wine.

After whole cluster pressing, building slowly up to 1.2 bar of pressure, the must was left to settle overnight to allow the largest solids in suspension to drop out (the bourbes). These solids are usually comprised of things like dust, small bits of stem, pectins, and other dense particles. The following day, I moved the cleaner juice suspended above the bourbes into a single stainless steel drum.

After several days, native fermentation began, thanks to the rich bloom of yeast on the grape skins from organic farming. To give the must enough headspace to ferment, half of the juice was moved into a 2023 light toast Damy Meursault barrel. I’m generally not fond of oak influence, but this particular barrel type has a light presence and enhances the wine’s own aromatics.

Once primary fermentation has peaked and begins to slow down, I consolidates the wine into the Damy barrel to minimize the amount of barrel headspace and oxygen exposure. In 2023, for the very first time, I was able to purchase a light toast Meursault Damy barrel made of French oak from the Vosges forest. After several months in oak, the wine was transferred to stainless steel for the remainder of élévage. All told, the 2024 vintage remained on its fine lees for 11 months before bottling.

History

The Lolonis family immigrated from Greece in 1901 and settled here in Redwood Valley as dairy farmers. It wasn’t until WWII when their son was in the war and sending home his paychecks that the family was able to invest in planting vines. This bottling of Chardonnay comes from the oldest vineyard portion of the property.

Artwork

The Lolonis Chardonnay label is of rosa californica, the California Wild Rose. This native Californian rose can be found throughout the state, from the coast to the foothills. Like the vines at Lolonis, rosa californica can weather the state’s periodic draughts and manages to nevertheless put out beautiful blooms. To learn more about the label artwork, please visit Artwork.