2024 Minus Tide Sterling Ranch Chenin Blanc

Tasting Notes: A wine of elegance and finesse, this dynamic, lively Chenin Blanc has layered notes of fresh rain, pine nut, and wet stone. Chalky minerality and a honeyed note add nuance, while its mouthwatering texture and beautifully integrated natural acidity give the wine brightness and lift.

Vineyard: Sterling Ranch - Talmage, Mendocino County AVA
Originally planted in 1980, Sterling Ranch is located in the Talmage benchland on the eastern edge of the Ukiah Valley. With gravelly loam soils, this site is farmed organically and sits on a gradual slope at elevations of 690-770ft.

Winemaking: Native yeast. Whole-cluster pressed. Fermented and aged in neutral French oak puncheons on the lees for 5 months.

Vintage: A cold spring was followed by a warm summer season, which allowed the grapevines to catch up to a more typical ripening timeline. The weather during harvest was mild with even temperatures, allowing us to pick the grapes at optimal maturity. The 2024 vintage overall is marked by excellent quality, higher acidity, and nice concentration, with great aging potential.

Technical Details:
Composition: 100% Chenin Blanc
pH: 3.05
TA: 7.6 g/L
Brix at harvest: 21.8
Alcohol: 13.2%
84 cases produced

96 Points - Decanter
"Top 50 Us Wines"
"Wow. This Chenin from the 45-year-old vines in Mendocino’s Sterling Vineyard on the edge of the Ukiah Valley is a purist’s dream come true. It shows the heights of cool climate winemaking. Stunning aromas of honey, ginger and spiced persimmon. The palate pops with depth, flavours of quince paste, ripe Bartlett pear, and rich apricot flesh. The acidity beautifully balances the depth, lending stone and spice to the fleshy finish. This is an incredible bottle of wine and could very well be America’s best Chenin Blanc."

Food & Wine Magazine
"The Best Value White Wine You're Not Drinking Yet: 9 Chenin Blancs from the United States"
"A California take on the Savennières style, this alluring, golden-hued white is full of ripe orchard fruit and spice notes, ending on a refreshing bite of acidity. It’s made in minimal amounts (only 84 cases in this vintage) so contact the winery directly to find it."

94 Points - JebDunnuck.com
"With only 84 cases produced, the impressive 2024 Chenin Blanc Sterling Ranch is from a site planted in 1980, one of the older dry-farm plantings of Chenin in the area. With minimal intervention on the winemaking and native yeast, it was barrel fermented in neutral French oak puncheon on the lees for five months. A fresh, delicious white, it tastes of wild honey, brioche, and apricot, light-bodied and bursting in acidity. Drink now through 2034."

93 Points - JamesSuckling.com
"Exuberant aromas of ripe pears, peaches and apricots with chalk. The medium-bodied palate is juicy and yummy with grapefruit pith and the same chalkiness. This has round, fresh acidity and a long, flavorful finish with a little pop of cherry pits. Super delicious right now."

"Elevate Thanksgiving with the best local wines from Sonoma County and beyond" - The Press Democrat
"A darling of Mendocino County, Minus Tide is a small but mighty wine brand that has steadily gained traction among savvy wine drinkers. This elegant Chenin Blanc was produced with fruit from Sterling Ranch, a 45-year-old vineyard in the Talmage Benchland. Whole-cluster pressed and aged on the lees in neutral French oak, the wine is lush in texture, with chalky minerality courtesy of the vineyard’s gravelly loam soils. Ripe notes of honeyed pear and white peach are lifted by fresh acidity on the finish."

Between 9 and 9.5 out of 10 Points - Vinography
"Light gold in the glass, this wine smells of honey, wet chalkboard, and grapefruit. In the mouth, the wine has a steely, saline grapefruit quality with pear and wet chalkboard notes. Excellent acidity."

Dame Wine
"100% Chenin Blanc from organically farmed old-vines on a gradual slope at elevations of 690-770 feet and was originally named Norgard as Tim Norgard planted it but changed it to Sterling Ranch to honor his father Sterling Norgard. Knockout bouquet of honeysuckle and smoky minerality with a hint of orange blossoms and white peach that has a vibrant acidity with flavors of nectarine crisp and acacia flower. $34 and only 84 cases made."