2021 Massale Chardonnay

Before and after phylloxera, European growers devoted to quality would select their best vines for propagation. They would observe vines for years, select them for particular traits and then propagate the grouping, a process known as massale selection.

This is still practiced widely today in Burgundy. It is also thought that elevating the choice of the vines themselves over their clonal makeup encourages the dominance of terroir over breeding. Given our fixation on Burgundian tradition and techniques, we decided to incorporate these concepts into two of our Chardonnay blocks, planting four different clones—two in each.

The Massale Penny label is the result of this exercise. After some experimentation, we have limited the inputs to the historic Wente clone and clone 548, which were planted together in limestone soils at the highest point in our main vineyard and magically complement each other in this special blend.