2021 Aperture Chenin Blanc Soil Specific Clarksburg 750 ml

Jesse Katz is as hot as a winemaker can be.

A superstar who’s developed his craft over 21 harvests, he’s worked stints at iconic properties like Petrus, Screaming Eagle, and Haut-Brion. He earned multiple 100-point scores before the age of 40, developed a custom wine for Justin Timberlake’s wedding, AND one of his bottles fetched a cool mil at auction. On top of that, he’s been named a Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 Tastemaker, a Wine Spectator Rising Star, and was the first winemaker to land on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.

Katz picks sites across Northern California to do things no one’s done before: As he told us, much of the region is decades behind Napa in terms of site selection. That means there’s an opportunity to make a mark by raising Chenin Blanc like this one to unprecedented heights, all while delivering outstanding value.

Wine Director David Osenbach at MICHELIN-starred Providence loves introducing guests to the Aperture winery, and since the restaurant's menu focuses on seafood, this Chenin Blanc is a go-to pairing. For the 2021, Jesse worked with a site in the Clarksburg AVA, nestled in the Sacramento Delta.

Planted in the 1940s, the vineyard boasts truly old vines that have grown gnarled and thick in the clay-loam soils of the region. The area has warm days that allow for easy ripening, but the nights are cold, keeping flavors vibrant. This is fermented and aged in barrels for texture—though most of them are made of stainless steel, to keep bright fruit flavors, with a touch of older oak to balance things out.

This is a spectacular white wine, fit to be matched with Providence’s world-class cuisine.