The Oxford University Wine Circle isn’t your average tasting group. We’re talking weekly tastings of the world’s most prestigious producers, with growers regularly presenting their wines in person. The group’s alumni include Jasper Morris MW, Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac and countless Masters of Wine; it’s a well-versed crowd. William Kelley spent four years as president of the Wine Circle while studying a doctorate in history, and it was here that he met Thomas Rivers Brown, a doyen of Napa Cabernet. Seeing something in the young, wine-obsessed scholar, Rivers Brown invited Kelley to join him for vintage. 

Kelley took Rivers Brown up on his offer and would soon move to Calistoga with his American partner while also finding time to work harvest in Burgundy. By this point, Kelley had decided to forgo a career in the academic world. He was already on his way to becoming Decanter Magazine’s North America correspondent without losing focus on Burgundy, where he reviewed the 2015 and ‘16 vintages.

Kelley’s travels in California eventually brought him into the orbit of the late Terry Leighton, whose Kalin Cellars has been described by John Gilman as “one of the great old school producers in the world of California wine”. Among the wines Leighton shared with Kelley was a bottle of his 2001 Chenin Blanc from vines in Clarksburg. Inspired by what he tasted, Kelley set off to acquaint himself with this little-understood AVA in the Sacramento Delta.

Kelley describes Clarksburg as an off-the-beaten-track place of picturesque, tree-lined levees, winding waterways and orchards. Like Bordeaux’s Médoc, the Sacramento Delta was initially drained by Dutch engineers in the 17th and 18th centuries, yet Clarksburg’s vineyards only came into being in the early 1960s. In these mineral-rich alluvial soils, Chenin Blanc was found to thrive.

William Kelley’s rise in wine writing circles has been meteoric. Yet, Kelley has a deep yearning to also establish himself as a producer (of both American and Burgundy wines). Beau Rivage is his first step towards this future.

In fact, Clarksburg is one of the finest places to grow Chenin Blanc in North America. Chenin sits far from the Californian mainstream but has remained Clarksburg’s signature variety with good reason. Cool evening breezes flowing across the delta help retain succulent acidity, and the combination of soils and mesoclimate allow Chenin’s flavours to develop fully at moderate potential alcohols. Those with a curious mind should look up the great Gerald Asher’s article, Clarksburg: The Right Grape in the Right Place (A Vineyard in My Glass, 2012).

Chances are you’ve never tasted a Clarksburg Chenin; not many have. It’s estimated that 90% of the grapes grown in the AVA are crushed in winery facilities elsewhere in California. It’s most often used to add spine and freshness to the region’s Chardonnay. Precious few producers bottle straight Chenin, and the area has lacked a killer winery to help build its reputation. The growers here, as Asher writes, are happy to remain growers. So, for now, it’s up to progressive new labels like Beau Rivage to further the cause.

Most readers will be aware that William Kelley began covering the wines of Burgundy for the Wine Advocate in 2018, and that Champagne and Bordeaux have been added to his beat. His rise in wine writing circles has been meteoric. He has brought a scholarly view to his role that makes his writing and communications unique and compelling—and he’s just entered his 30s! Yet Kelley has a deep yearning to establish himself as a producer (of both American and Burgundy wines). Beau Rivage is his first step towards this future. While it’s very early days for Kelley and his partner in Beau Rivage, Frank Ingriselli, the results already speak for themselves. Kelley is inspired by history (as you might expect from a historian) and the great French growers he covers. To this end, Beau Rivage is not seeking to emulate Chenin from anywhere else; the objective is a classically balanced and affordably priced Clarksburg Chenin using organically farmed fruit and artisanal winemaking techniques. So far, so (very) good!