Chuy Ordaz

Moon Mountain Legend
Sonoma Valley / Moon Mountain

When regime change at Hanzell Vineyards cost us our fruit contract there, we went in search of something special in the neighborhood. What we found was another historic site, planted on the same band of young volcanic soil, being tended to by local legend Chuy Ordaz. After immigrating to California as a teen, Chuy worked his way up and well into the inner sanctum of Sonoma County viticulture. He planted this vineyard in 1963 to Old Wente clone selection and has dry-farmed it ever since. At 1200 feet elevation, you can look across the Sonoma Valley and on a clear day glimpse downtown S.F.

Appellation: Sonoma Valley/Moon Mountain
Vineyard designate: Chuy Vineyard
Soil type: hardscrabble rock, volcanic, and grey shale
Elevation: Elevation: 1000-1200 feet
Clone: Old Wente Clone Chardonnay
Average age of vines: 60 years
Farming: Dry farmed sustainable
Unique aspect: high elevation site, extremely poor soil, dry-farmed, head-trained, old Wente
Sourced for: Chuy Vineyard Chardonnay
What to expect from the wines: Rich but with great cut and freshness, Chuy reminds us of a Meursault-Narvaux. This is a deep, dense wine stuffed with minerals. Needs time to unwind itself but hints at a long, interesting cellar life.