Grapes come from an organic, mature, gravel-laden vineyard outside of Healdsburg. The two men of Maitre de Chai, Alex Pitts and Marty Winters, are skilled in leading their wines down the right path to make delicious, distinctive wines. In other words, this is “natural winemaking” unless the wine needs a little help along the way. This Chardonnay is made with the care, from vineyard to bottle, normally reserved for wines 2, 3 or 4 times its price. Ample yet understated fruit flavors of Bosc pears, preserved lemon and baked green apples is framed by earth-like sensations of rocky soil and coastal breezes. Light oak, medium/high acidity, light butter (full malolactic but not buttery per-se…”Burgundian”). New artisan wineries like Maitre de Chai helps me stay keenly interested in the California wine industry.
