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Wine Description
The Story
SIXTO is inspired by the story of musician Sixto Rodriguez from 'Searching for a Sugarman' documentary. Winemaker Charles Smith similarly wanted to resurrect something that was always great but was waiting to be rediscovered, as in the old Chardonnay vines in Washington State. Being the sixth label that Charles has created—sextus translates to “sixth” in Latin—the name SIXTO was a perfect fit.
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Origin: Columbia Valley, Washington State
Vineyards: The vineyards we work with are farmed using the most up to date sustainable practices.
Frenchman Hills (33%): This vineyard was planted in 1998 and is about a 30-minute drive north of the Wahluke Slope, which is one of the warmest areas in the Columbia Valley. However, Frenchman Hills Vineyard is a cooler site, partly because of its higher elevation at 1650 feet. It also does not easily frost, and has limestone and broken basalt soils at the top of the vineyard.
Moxee (28%): Planted in 1973, Moxee is located east of Yakima and north of Moxee. The west facing slope is about 1450 feet elevation. The soil is Moxee silt loam with broken limestone.
Roza Hills (27%): At an elevation of 1350 feet, in a natural southern sloping bowl that sits on the southern slope of the Rattlesnake Hills, Roza Hills was planted in 1977. The majority of the vineyard is planted in loamy silt to chalky soil with broken basalt chunks interspersed.
Evergreen (12%): Planted in 1998 by Jerry Milbrandt, the vineyard rows lie along a stretch of steep cliffs above the Columbia River in the AVA of Ancient Lakes. A cooler site due to river influence, the soils are composed of fragmented basalt, gravel silt, and a caliche deposited during ice age floods.