2020 Zeitgeist Cellars Chenin Blanc St. Helena Napa Valley 750 ml

“When I worked as a somm at Bottega, I poured this for my favorite customers,” our own Laura Koffer said with a smile, “There was never enough for everybody.” 

Gold-flecked, full of tension and energy, Zeitgeist’s tiny-production Chenin Blanc is a prize for any seeker of exhilarating white wine. The high-flying 100-point winemaking team of Jennifer Williams (Spottswoode, Pahlmeyer, Arrow & Branch) and Mark Porembski (Anomaly, Unwritten) have crafted a masterpiece, coaxing delicate notes of jasmine and orange blossom, ripe yellow peach, and clove-studded citrus from a rare planting of St. Helena Chenin Blanc. 

Fewer than 150 cases were produced and the majority will be sold directly to restaurants and to Zeitgeist mailing list members. Thanks to Laura, we were able to pry loose one of the only retail allocations in the country. 

“On occasion, I would bring a decanter to the table to serve this,” Laura told us. “At first people thought I was crazy, but after 30 minutes they were amazed. You can absolutely pop and pour this—you’ll get vibrant streaks of fresh-cut Meyer lemon, flower blossoms, all kinds of exciting stuff. But with a short decant, or even just a little extra time in the glass, you begin to realize this wine has a lot more to give. It’s no ordinary Chenin.” 

As the 2020 Zeitgeist unfolds in the glass, revealing layers of peaches and cream and an aromatic bouquet that blooms like a spring meadow, so too unfolds a vinous history of Napa Valley. 

Today, just 16 acres of Chenin Blanc exist in all of Napa. These heritage plantings harken back to the days before Cabernet was king, before the glitz and glam of the Valley as we now know it. 

Back then, gold-hued honeysuckle and citrus-laden Chenins showcased Napa’s brilliance, paving the way for its grand entrance on the world stage as a red wine powerhouse.  

Today, the demand for Cabernet has uprooted nearly all Chenin production in the Valley, but a few choice parcels still remain, fiercely protected by growers and coveted by winemakers seeking the seed of Napa’s greatness. These gnarled vines are the bearers of legacy; their wines, rare expressions that deserve a place in the cellar next to the finest cult Cabs. 

The 2020 Chenin Blanc St. Helena is right at home in the Zeitgeist lineup, which touts its own share of superstar reds boasting scores as high as 99 points. The St. Helena vineyard source is so precious that Williams and Porembski won’t even call it by name. Suffice it to say it is an old-vine planting, one of those invaluable 16 acres, that keeps a living record of Napa Valley’s storied past. 

Exuding all the extra-concentration and extraordinary complexity that only old vines are capable of, the 2020 Zeitgeist Chenin Blanc is a Napa classic, crafted by two of the Valley’s finest winemakers. It’s as rare as it is singular—exactly the kind of wine we live for at Wine Access.