Lieu Dit Chenin Blanc 2023
(Santa Ynez Valley, California) - [WA 91]

About the winery:
Lieu Dit is a partnership of longtime friends Eric Railsback and Justin Willett. The two met in Santa Barbara while Eric was finishing college and Justin was just beginning his career in winemaking. They were among a small group of young winemakers and restaurateurs in Santa Barbara unified by a common interest in wine and all its mysteries.
After countless bottles shared together and many trips to France, Railsback and Willett decided to found Lieu Dit in 2011 and focus it solely in the varieties indigenous to the Loire Valley, now grown in Santa Barbara County. The varied micro-climates and marine based soils of Santa Barbara County are ideally suited to this set of grapes.

About the wine:
Chenin Blanc is the best kept secret in the world of wine. Richer than Sauvignon Blanc but impossibly light on its feet, Chenin Blanc is probably your new favorite wine… you just don’t know it yet.
Let us introduce you to the quiet luxury of Chenin Blanc: at once decadent and bracingly fresh.
Chenin Blanc is a favorite of sommeliers and chefs because it is so versatile and enjoyable when paired with a wide range of cuisines. For us - and many fans of Chenin Blanc - it’s really all about the texture. The bright aromas are lovely, but the feel of the wine is what captivates and delights.

91 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
The 2023 Chenin Blanc clearly displays the radiant, focused nature of the vintage, leading with an incisive nose of lemon curd and crushed stones bolstered by exotic, waxy and floral accents. The palate is similarly spry and tensile yet displays a lovely creamy breadth that supports the bright, airy finish.