2023 Kimari Vineyard Chardonnay, Sant Cruz Mnts.

There is a sad narrative that rides with the 23 Kimari. The wine is off the Richter. Which makes the post script that much more painful. Vintage 2023 was followed by a cold, damp, foggy year that wrecked the 2024 crop and forced us to rethink our assumptions about farming here. The entire vineyard was taken by powdery mildew. The jagged pill owners Kim and Ari Novick were forced to swallow inspired a conversation about what could be done to prevent this from happening again. The solution: cut the heads off the old vines and start again. The quads which crammed too many clusters too close together in this too damp zone will be replaced by double Cordon pruning. The yields may be lower per vine, but vine health will improve and better yields should come. That the Novicks are ammending soil, cutting way shade bearing trees, and employing selection massale...all of this portends to a bright future here. But there will be no Kimari in 2024 or 2025. In the meantime, enjoy this razor sharp white wine cut from stone. The likes of which will be found in just a few rare California terroirs.