William Kelley is far better known as the Wine Advocate's mould-breaking wine critic. Yet he is also a very gifted winemaker and, now, winegrower. Kelley’s micro-Burgundy project released its first wines from the 2019 vintage, and the ambitious pricing has not dampened the fervour—the wines are as remarkable as they are rare. Yet Kelley’s first foray into winemaking did not start in Beaune, Pommard or Gevrey-Chambertin but in the quiet, pastoral AVA of Clarksburg on the outskirts of Sacramento. Rolling back to 2016, Kelley recalls that he and friend-slash-business partner Frank Ingriselli were looking for organically farmed old vines in Californian sub-regions where variety aligned with climate, which led them to Chenin in Clarksburg. “We then applied artisanal French winemaking techniques and sort of waited to see what happened,” he recalls. What happened is that Beau Rivage promptly reset the conversation around the potential to craft world-class Chenin Blanc from Californian soils. The 2020 is the fourth release, and with due respect to its predecessors, it is by far the most exciting release yet. Kelley is inspired by the great French growers he so often visits, and this, along with his winemaking experiences in Burgundy, has had a pronounced effect on the quality and style of his Californian wine. In particular—and sorry to name-drop—he has introduced practices from Domaine Guffens-Heynen (ultra-precise pressing) and Domaine Coche-Dury (extended lees aging) with impressive results.Whatever the future holds for Beau Rivage—don’t quote us, but there was talk of a Cotat-inspired rosé from the Alexander Valley and a low-alcohol, pan-Californian Grenache blend—here and now is a Californian Chenin Blanc that holds its own against the best of the Loire Valley and South Africa.