Las Jaras Wines 'Cuvée Esmé Anne' Chenin Blanc, Mendocino County, California 2022
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Las Jaras was founded in 2015 by winemaker Joel Burt and actor-comedian Eric Wareheim, who bonded over food and wine at a Malibu beach party and quickly discovered they shared a vision: wines that capture the spirit of old California through low-intervention farming and vinification. Burt grew up on his family's organic table grape operation in California's Central Valley, then spent formative years working with natural wine producers including Alice Bouvot of Domaine l'Octavin in the Jura. Based in Sonoma, Las Jaras builds a portfolio that spans from playful everyday blends to serious single-vineyard bottlings. Their Chenin Blanc program — sourced from the Norgard Vineyard on Mendocino's Talmage Bench since 2018 — is among the most acclaimed in California. Cuvée Esmé Anne, named for Joel's younger daughter, is the reserve expression of the program, conceived in the spirit of Saumur's Brézé — one of the Loire Valley's most mineral and age-worthy Chenin terroirs.
- WINEMAKER: Joel Burt
- FARMING: Sustainably farmed. Norgard Vineyard, Talmage Bench, Mendocino County. Planted 1978–1980 on a north-facing slope.
- VARIETY: 100% Chenin Blanc
- TERROIR: The Norgard Vineyard sits on the Talmage Bench on the east side of the Russian River in Mendocino County — one of California's most consistent Chenin Blanc sites for decades. The north-facing slope and well-drained soils produce fruit with naturally high acidity and restrained fruit weight, giving the variety the structure it needs for complexity and longevity. Both the Cézanne and Cuvée Esmé Anne are sourced from this single vineyard, distinguished by vinification approach rather than fruit source.
- VINIFICATION: Barrel fermented only — in contrast to the Cézanne, which uses a combination of concrete egg and barrel lots. This exclusively barrel-fermented approach builds texture and complexity while preserving the vineyard's mineral precision.
- AGING: Neutral French oak barrels.
- TASTING NOTES: Subtle citrus notes woven into a sleek mineral frame. Flinty on entry, then red apple, pear, Meyer lemon, jasmine, nectarine, and kumquat. Medium-bodied with excellent balance and high, persistent acidity. A wine with significant aging potential.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled fish in beurre blanc, roast chicken, aged goat cheese, lobster, oysters.
- SCORES: Cuvée Esmé Anne was named Best Chenin Blanc in the 2026 "1976 Redo" competition, a reinvention of the Judgment of Paris, beating out two benchmark Saumur producers.
Las Jaras Wines 'Cuvée Esmé Anne' Chenin Blanc, Mendocino County, California 2022
Las Jaras was founded in 2015 by winemaker Joel Burt and actor-comedian Eric Wareheim, who bonded over food and wine at a Malibu beach party and quickly discovered they shared a vision: wines that capture the spirit of old California through low-intervention farming and vinification. Burt grew up on his family's organic table grape operation in California's Central Valley, then spent formative years working with natural wine producers including Alice Bouvot of Domaine l'Octavin in the Jura. Based in Sonoma, Las Jaras builds a portfolio that spans from playful everyday blends to serious single-vineyard bottlings. Their Chenin Blanc program — sourced from the Norgard Vineyard on Mendocino's Talmage Bench since 2018 — is among the most acclaimed in California. Cuvée Esmé Anne, named for Joel's younger daughter, is the reserve expression of the program, conceived in the spirit of Saumur's Brézé — one of the Loire Valley's most mineral and age-worthy Chenin terroirs.
- WINEMAKER: Joel Burt
- FARMING: Sustainably farmed. Norgard Vineyard, Talmage Bench, Mendocino County. Planted 1978–1980 on a north-facing slope.
- VARIETY: 100% Chenin Blanc
- TERROIR: The Norgard Vineyard sits on the Talmage Bench on the east side of the Russian River in Mendocino County — one of California's most consistent Chenin Blanc sites for decades. The north-facing slope and well-drained soils produce fruit with naturally high acidity and restrained fruit weight, giving the variety the structure it needs for complexity and longevity. Both the Cézanne and Cuvée Esmé Anne are sourced from this single vineyard, distinguished by vinification approach rather than fruit source.
- VINIFICATION: Barrel fermented only — in contrast to the Cézanne, which uses a combination of concrete egg and barrel lots. This exclusively barrel-fermented approach builds texture and complexity while preserving the vineyard's mineral precision.
- AGING: Neutral French oak barrels.
- TASTING NOTES: Subtle citrus notes woven into a sleek mineral frame. Flinty on entry, then red apple, pear, Meyer lemon, jasmine, nectarine, and kumquat. Medium-bodied with excellent balance and high, persistent acidity. A wine with significant aging potential.
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled fish in beurre blanc, roast chicken, aged goat cheese, lobster, oysters.
- SCORES: Cuvée Esmé Anne was named Best Chenin Blanc in the 2026 "1976 Redo" competition, a reinvention of the Judgment of Paris, beating out two benchmark Saumur producers.