Les Lunes

NORCAL

Les Lunes represents the ‘vigneron’ project of Diego Roig and Shaunt Oungoulian of Populis fame. A vehicle for regenerative farming that has been steadily expanding, they have converted 40 acres of conventionally farmed vineyards to organic practices. Supplemented by historic vineyards grown by multi-generational farmers with the same ethos, the Les Lunes wines are studies in tactful winemaking that emphasize minimalism over cellar acrobatics. Les Lunes represents about one third of their 4,000 case output and with each successive harvest they inch closer to their goal of working exclusively with grapes they farm themselves. The cellar craft is gentle, patience is the primary tool used to get the best out of the bottle. These are wines that speak to yesteryear’s dreamy Cali vibe, capturing the golden hue of 1970’s Californian viticulture. Soooooo….time travel wine?

PRODUCTS

ASTRAL

A kitchen sink blend with a number of different methods employed and some white grapes for good measure, this wine is a chillable red with super satisfying structure.

COSMIC

This is a new Bordeaux blend focusing on Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Cabernet Franc for texture. Fermented and aged in a mix of Flextank and neutral barrel.

BARRA VINEYARD CHARDONNAY

Shaunt says Barra Vineyard at the juncture of the Redwood Valley and Russian River Valley has been ‘organic before it was a thing.’ This is an early pick of Chardonnay whole cluster pressed into neutral barrel for fermentation and racked to Flextank in November for 7 months aging.

LINDA VISTA CHARDONNAY

Chardonnay in deep volcanic soils tended by the legendary Steve Matthiasson. Unlike their Barra Vineyard Chardonnay, they are aiming for a more powerful style by aging the wine in barrel for a total of 18 months before bottling with 15-20 ppm added sulfite.

BREUSKE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

From a dinky 1 acre, wooded vineyard in Los Carneros, gently hand destemmed and macerated for 14 days before pressing into neutral barrel.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON/ MERLOT

Coming from two vineyards in the cooler Los Carneros AVA, this wine is way old-school with two years barrel age and another year in bottle before release. No added sulfite.

BLACK VINEYARD MERLOT

This is the maiden vintage for this wine, a single varietal expression of a special vineyard with volcanic soils pocked by huge boulders that negate tractor work down certain rows. Made just like the Cab -Merlot.

VENTURI VINEYARD ZINFANDEL

Taking from Diego's formative experience with Southern French master vigneron Leon Barral, they have decided to treat this old vine Zinfandel gently with a very foot treading process that stretches the fermentation out to 2.5 weeks. The result is a wine that brings tenderness out of the super ripe Zinfandel.