Winemaker Notes
Seth first made natural Chenin in 2010—well before "natural" was a trend in the US. Since then the wine has evolved from a small experiment to a gem that's perfect for those who champion the lightest touch and highest expression of terroir.Seth always selected great vineyards, and Jurassic Park is a great example. It's one of the few own-rooted vineyards in the country, and the east-west sprawl of 50 year old vines yields tiny, concentrated berries. The vineyard sits at 1100 elevation on sandy, well-draining limestone (and dino-bone) soils, maintaining that zing of freshness that is the mark of all Kunin's wines. The fruit comes from the first harvest pass; once destemmed and crushed, the grapes vinify in the manner of reds, in open top fermenters with daily punch-downs. After the wild yeasts do their thing, the wine is pressed to 6+ year old barrels where it rests for 14 months. Then it’s bottled unfiltered and unfined with—naturally—zero sulfur. The wine opens with an exuberant nose of passion fruit, honeydew melon and honeysuckle; the palate is complex with ripe fruits, intriguing texture, and balancing acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"In the strictest form, it is a natural wine," Magan Eng tells me. "It's one of our first picks, and it's always the cleanest pick because the wine's not going to get help, so it has to be as pristine as possible. We treat it like a red wine and put it in open top fermenters on the skins for 20 days. There's no fining, no filtration, no commercial yeast. We just allow the grapes to be. In 2010 when we first made it, we thought we were making an orange wine. But it never turned orange either—the skins are so anti-oxidative."
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
Today it is an integral part of the greater Santa Barbara County wine region, but at one time the village, Los Olivos, was a stop on the Wells Fargo stagecoach line.