DeSante The Old Vines White

For 20 years now, husband and wife David and Katharine DeSante have quietly been making some of my favorite California whites. Their wines sadly left distribution in the NC market, but they just returned, and they are better than ever. 

Their Old Vine White is truly stunning! “Beyond organic,” this collection of head-trained heritage grape varieties has been dry-farmed without conventional agrichemicals of any type since the mid-1940’s. The only fertilizers applied are dried sea kelp. The only fungicides are made from lavender soap, olive oil and garlic extracts.

The youngest vines are 70+ years old with many of the vines exceeding 90 years of age. The varieties include Green Hungarian, Semillon, Sauvignon Vert, Golden Chasselas, Pinot Blanc and others. All of the vines are either planted to the St. George rootstock or on their original vinifera roots. Yields are approximately 1 ton / acre or 16 hL/hectare in a productive year.

This intriguing white field blend has exotic aromas of apple tarte tatin and star anise. The palate is round, full and bright – a delicious combination of traits. Roasted pear and succulent green gage plum buoy the deeper honeycomb-like waxy traits that arise on the finish. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with yeast lees retained in the bottle for complexity, this wine is unlike anything else produced in California. What an unusual wine – a real rarity.