This release will feature the first two wines from the 2011 quintet. You may expect to receive another offer of two selections early in the fall season and then one final singular bottling feature near the end of the year.

As always, I sincerely thank you for all of your support over these past seven years and especially for all of you who displayed such confidence and understanding last year when I made this very sincere, albeit esoteric transition. 2011 was another long and very cool growing season which resulted in wines of incredible purity and intensity such as 2010 which I look forward to sharing with you soon. Please click here to read the current newsletter.

Wines produced in this style often carry small amounts of dissolved CO2 gas in solution. This is a result of their very cold execution and careful processing in the cellar. The fine bubbles will dissipate within a few moments of pouring and are simply a sign of the wine’s minimal handling.

Diatom wines are finished with a wax seal. For opening instructions, click here.

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“These minimalist tank fermented Chardonnays are brilliant achievements from wunderkind Greg Brewer. No one else in California is doing anything remotely like what he has achieved with diatom.” Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

2011 Hana Shinobu
3,000 bottles produced
13.8% alcohol $36
Hana means flower and shinobu in this context means to memorialize and poignantly reflect upon a loved one or somebody important in one’s life and history. There is both delicacy and tenderness implicit in this kanji which sincerely expresses compassion. Hana Shinobu is also the technical name for the flower of Nishiwaki City in Hyogo, Japan where Taka and Miyoko were born and where they later met in junior high school. The parcel on which these grapes are grown has been handed down for generations of farmers within prominent Lompoc farming families. I feel both privileged and humbled to share their land for the creation of this bottling.
Intense aromatics of lemongrass, papaya and white blossom followed by flavors of minerals, rain water and lychee. While the palate impression is initially quite concise and compact, the finish yields an unexpected creaminess.

“Brewer’s methods and philosophy may seem extreme, but then so are his results. Like haiku that encapsulate in simple phrases whole ranges of feeling, these wines in their purity achieve an eerie transcendence that enables one to imagine that one is not tasting Chardonnay at all, but wind, soil, light.” Brett Anderson, Robb Report

2011 Hamon
2,760 bottles produced
16.3% alcohol $42
Hamon makes reference to the ripple which results from dropping a pebble into a still body of water such as a quiet stream or pond. It also means clouds or smoke and is a term used to describe the cloud-like pattern shown on samurai swords where the metal tone changes as a result of the metal forging technique and frequently also of the specific time in history when the blade was created. This parcel is significantly impacted by the fog and is a selection of chardonnay which has historically exhibited a rich curvature which has consistently been reminiscent of both the power and transitory nature of waves.
Explosive aromatics marked by honeysuckle, papaya and pineapple followed by mandarin orange (unshu mikan) and other ripe citrus flavors. Very dense and expansive on the palate with tremendous drive and persistence on the finish.

“The other night I opened a bottle of wine that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It’s a wine startling for its purity and for its size. I find Brewer to be one of the most thoughtful and honest winemakers around.” Eric Asimov, New York Times