Shibumi Knoll · Buena Tierra · 2023
2023 Shibumi Knoll Buena Tierra Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
A place on the list
The 1972 Old Wente block on Eastside Road. Thomas Rivers Brown in the cellar. Jeb Dunnuck 97 on the 2023 — the number this house has been chasing since the 2005 Spectator 97. 338 cases. NET $80.40 in sixes.
Winery SRP $80 per bottle
One-case minimum unless a bulk break is shown at checkout. Partner price is the JS Selections offer, not a required resale price.
Why this bottle belongs on the list
Two selling points.
Then the market.
They paid full price for old vines. The agreement still holds.
Shibumi found Buena Tierra through Eugena Keegan, then approached the owners of a 35-year-old Russian River block about to be ripped out. The offer: pay full production price for whatever fruit came off the vines. That block is the original 1972 planting — 2.5 acres of Old Wente on St. George.
97 Dunnuck. The 2005 argument, current vintage.
The 2005 took 97 from Wine Spectator and tied for the highest California Chardonnay score of that decade. Dunnuck's 97 on the 2023 is the current chapter: minty lift, savory pineapple, toast, golden peaches, silk, salt, and length.
Professional scores
What the press wrote on this vintage.
Named critic scores on this vintage. These are press ratings, not the Wine-Searcher aggregate.
The buyer's perspective
What the guest
hears first.
Staff line: 1972 Old Wente, Thomas Rivers Brown, 97 Jeb Dunnuck. NET $80.40 in sixes. 338 cases. Pour it with scallops or roast bird.
Winemaker's corner
Wine Spectator cover · Napa's Top Gun · Shibumi Knoll
Thomas
Rivers Brown
When the Rosses were looking for another winemaker, Brown approached them and offered to make the wines — he already knew the Chardonnay and wanted the old-vine block. He has been there since 2010.
Don Ross was Project Engineer for Lunar Mission Planning on Apollo. After the second lunar landing he built a business; in 2003 he and Joann bought a knoll north of St. Helena. The Chardonnay that made the house came from Sonoma, not from that knoll.
Joann Serafini still runs Shibumi. The 2023 Buena Tierra is 338 cases, harvested September 17, bottled December 10, 2024. Same never-fined, never-filtered protocol as Corazon, with a much smaller key.
Buena Tierra Vineyard
Eastside Road.
Valley floor.
Old Wente.
The original 1972 2.5-acre block, Old Wente on St. George rootstock, Eastside Road valley floor, next to the Russian River. In Spanish, Buena Tierra means good earth.
Sorted, pressed, and barreled the morning of harvest. Native yeast, full ML, 15 months in 50% new French oak, unfined and unfiltered. 14.1% alcohol.
Dunnuck: drink over the coming 12 or more years. LPB 95: ripe apricots, Golden Delicious apple, allspice, cedar, honeycomb, cashew — satiny, with refreshing lift.
2023 in the glass
Ripe, not heavy.
Spice, not makeup.
Bright golden yellow. Dunnuck: minty lift over savory pineapple, toast, and golden peaches — full-bodied, silky, baking spice, salt, length. LPB: apricot, apple, allspice, honeycomb, cashew. Approachable ripeness without alcoholic heat. This is the historic block in the current vintage.
Menu and service
Built for a serious table.
- Seared scallops
- Roast chicken with herbs
- Brown-butter lobster
Serve in a proper stem. Taste on opening and give the wine air if the structure asks for it.
Staff pairing clip
Every Way To Cook Chicken Breast (30 Ways)
The tableside introduction
“Shibumi Buena Tierra 2023, 1972 Old Wente, Thomas Rivers Brown. 97 Jeb Dunnuck. NET $80.40 in sixes.”
Order the case
The historic block, current vintage.
97 points. 338 cases. $80.40 NET in sixes.
One-case minimum unless a bulk break is shown at checkout. Partner price is the JS Selections offer, not a required resale price.
