Populis "Texian" Macerated White Cuvée 2023

Populis makes this just for Texas, exclusively in partnership with Mayfield Selections. Their third Texian Cuvée is a macerated white blend of 40% Chardonnay, 20% Carbonic Chardonnay, 20% Grenache Blanc and 20% Orange Muscat.

Populis is run by Diego Roig and Shaunt Oungoulian. They lease their own vineyards and work the vines with the goal of producing wines that blaze their own trail and pay respect to the great wines of California’s past. Grapes for these wines are purchased from historic vineyards, and multi-generational growers in Mendocino County, and are made in a more primary, fruit forward style.

There’s an emphasis on vineyard management, proper pruning, precise suckering, well-timed treatments and thoughtful weed management lets them minimize the pesticide inputs in the vineyards. This is done to preserve the indigenous microbes on the grapes and in the soils, which leads to healthier and more complex wines that don’t need adjusting or stabilizing in the cellar.

Both Shaunt and Diego are UC Davis alums. After going through their viticulture program, they worked in France, Italy and New Zealand at wineries such as COS, Domaine Valette, and Domaine Barral among others. These experiences in the vineyards and tasting wines from all over the world have helped shape their belief that the best wines come from soils and vineyards farmed without synthetic chemicals with the utmost respect paid to nature. Grapes grown in these vineyards have no need for commercial yeast strains or chemical additives to manipulate the flavor, ensuring the truest expression of time and place.