Nose

This complex Chenin Blanc shows expressive citrus and stone fruit aromatics, with blood orange, Meyer lemon, and white peach notes, offset by crisp pear and quince aromas.

Palate

In the mouth, tropical flavors of gooseberry, kiwi, guava, and starfruit permeate through a vibrant finish.

Growing Conditions

Vineyards: Willard Farms, Yakima Valley planted in 1979, Upland Vineyard - Snipes Mountain, Yakima Valley planted in 1979, Rothrock Vineyard, Yakima Valley planted in 1978, & Phil Church, Yakima Valley planted in 1979.

Harvest

An overall mild growing season and challenging harvest have nonetheless delivered a high-quality vintage for L’Ecole. A cold and snowy February/March delayed field pruning, resulting in budbreak late April to early May. A warm May accelerated canopy growth and the onset of bloom. Cooler July temperatures moderated heat unit accumulation with veraison delayed 7 to10 days from normal. August brought customary warm weather, with only a few heat spikes over 100°F. A warm early September initiated a normal harvest, which was slowed due to slightly rainy and cooler conditions. A light frost at the end of September along with a forecast of more freezing weather on its way accelerated picking, with 60% of our fruit harvested the first two weeks of October. Freezing weather quickly brought the season to a close the second week of October. With delight, we are seeing beautiful and elegant wines, with high natural acidity, and impressive structure.

Bottling

Bottling Date: February 26-27, 2020

Winemaking

The high elevation Upland Vineyard was machine-harvested in the middle of the night prior to the freeze. All of the other vineyards were hand-picked after the freeze to avoid toasted leaves. The fruit was gently whole-cluster pressed to minimize phenolics and solids. The settled juice was racked off the solids then fermented slowly in a stainless steel tank over an extended period of time at cool temperatures to yield rich and fruity flavors. After primary fermentation was complete, the wine was cold stabilized and filtered.