NEWBIE INTRO: Beau Rivage Cellars

Hi everyone,

Just a brief introduction to my small California wine project: Beau Rivage Cellars. I actually became a wine critic somewhat by accident, having moved to California in 2015 to work a harvest, with the aspiration of making wine of my own. By 2017, when I was still working for Decanter Magazine, and partnering up with my good friend, Frank Ingriselli (who now works at Rivers-Marie), we were ready to produce our first vintage. The idea was to seek out a site where we could buy grapes from vines of an interesting age, organically farmed, and—given the bootstrap nature of the enterprise—keenly priced. We were also interested to attempt something with a grape variety whose potential has not been extensively explored in California (even if it was the base of a lot of California “Chablis” back in the day): Chenin Blanc.

There is a great Gerald Asher essay about Chenin Blanc in the delta town of Clarksburg, subtitled “the perfect grape in the perfect place”; and we would certainly agree with Asher, as it was in Clarksburg that we found what we were looking for. Just as Bordeaux’s Médoc was drained by Dutch engineers in the 18th century, so Clarksburg was reclaimed by the Holland Land Company in the early 20th century. Its alluvial soils are substantially derived from the millions of tons of crushed rock that were liberated from the mountains during the California Gold Rush. By the 1950s, Chenin Blanc was planted there, and it became the region’s signature grape. Attaining flavor maturity at low potential alcohols thanks to the cooling oceanic influence, the fruit is naturally balanced and a delight to work with. The only challenge is limiting yields in a region that’s often the source of blending grapes for wineries based in more prestigious AVAs.

In any case, given my day job reviewing Burgundy—and given that the grape chemistry of Clarksburg Chenin actually has more in common with Chardonnay from Burgundy than Chenin than the Loire—we decided to apply pretty classical Burgundian winemaking techniques, with careful sorting, crushing, and pressing; unhurried barrel fermentation in used cooperage (both barrels and puncheons); and maturation on the lees. It’s tempting to go into a lot more detail, but all that’s available on our site https://www.beaurivagecellars.com. We make the wine in a corner of the cellar at Spottswoode, with the invaluable help of Aron Weinkauf and his team. It has been fascinating to see the wines evolve in barrel and bottle, and also to observe very obvious vintage variation from year to year—something that will be the theme for our offer here. We produce around 4,000 bottles per year.


December24,2020_1 by WilliamGFKelley, on Flickr

3 Likes

Fellow wine lovers, I have been working alongside my dear friend William Kelley for quite a few years now and we are very excited bring forward Beau Rivage to this year’s Berserker Day offering.

William and I met in 2015 while he was working harvest in the Napa Valley. We quickly struck up a deep friendship and I watched over the years as he started to review Napa wines for Decanter before securing a job with Wine Advocate reviewing Burgundy - eventually adding Champagne to his already very full tasting schedule.

William is, of course, the winemaker extraordinaire for Beau Rivage and my responsibilities lie with the admin side of the business. We both look forward to showing you the amazing expressions of Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg.

I can’t wait to start posting more on the boards and continuing to meet you all!

4 Likes

Finally! Looking forward to this…

1 Like

This sounds very promising! If your wine is half of as great as the knowledge you share here and on WA, I’ll love it!

1 Like

Very excited!

1 Like

First vintage was very enjoyable. My tasting note said I could see it becoming my house white.

Welcome to Wine Berserkers Frank

2 Likes

Only 4,000 bottles a year Steve… leave some for the rest of us!

2 Likes

Ignorant question: would you mind describing the wine for those that are not familiar with the grape nor your take on the style? Thank you in advance.

Yes! 916 represent!

1 Like

Sure! We are aiming to produce something vibrant and succulent, with moderate alcohol, and texture from lees contact in used wood.

There definitely has been a thread or two on these wines relatively recently.

Thank you Steve! Excited to be here.

1 Like

Thank you for your time. Sounds yummy.

I read that Newbie Intro in William Kelley’s voice.

It’s very compelling that way.

Besides the fact that Frank and William are great guys, the wine is really excellent. William’s description of the style is spot on. Beautifully balanced and great flavors. We put it on the list at Pirozzi.

1 Like

If William Kelley was to review the wine, what would the tasting note be? :slight_smile:

Look forward to seeing the offer!

1 Like

Love seeing this here, my friend. Good luck!!!

1 Like

I maybe “ostriched” previous posts on WB about the winemaker side of Willam Kelley, so this was all news to me. Wow! Interesting back story there too. Love CB, by the way.
Cheers.

1 Like

Missing some good Chenin Blanc in my cellar and excited to give this a try!

1 Like