United States · California

Littorai

Littorai Wines, founded by Ted and Heidi Lemon in 1993 on the extreme Sonoma and Mendocino coasts, is recognized as one of California's most rigorous and intellectually serious Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers. Ted Lemon, who trained at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy and was later winemaker at Domaine Guy Roulot, applies Burgundian principles—biodynamic viticulture, whole-cluster fermentation, indigenous yeasts, and minimal SO2—to a roster of single-vineyard California coastal sites. The portfolio includes Anderson Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Fort Ross-Seaview AVA vineyards. Savoy Vineyard and The Haven are benchmark sites; Charles Ranch from the Mendocino Ridge adds high-altitude complexity. At auction, 808 lots average $87 per bottle reaching $523—modest pricing reflecting Littorai's cult-without-scarcity positioning: critical acclaim from Burgundy-focused buyers who prefer the $80–120 range over speculative $500+ bottles. The 2014 vintage is the top auction year. Ted Lemon's insistence on single-vineyard transparency and biodynamic farming has made Littorai a reference point for thoughtful California Pinot production.

Ted Lemon was the first American to serve as resident winemaker at a premier French domaine (Domaine Guy Roulot in Meursault), bringing direct Burgundian cellar experience back to California—a biographical detail that directly shapes Littorai's whole-cluster, indigenous-yeast, biodynamic approach.

Littorai farms exclusively with biodynamic certification across all estate and contracted vineyards, one of the most rigorous biodynamic commitments of any California winery at scale; the approach includes lunar-calendar scheduling, biodynamic preparations, and rejection of all synthetic inputs.

The Haven vineyard in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, one of California's highest and most wind-exposed Pinot Noir sites, produces wines of extraordinary tension and mineral definition that regularly command prices at the top of the Littorai lineup—above $150 per bottle in recent auction transactions.

Anderson Valley's Savoy Vineyard, the estate's best-known site, has produced Littorai Pinot Noir since the early 1990s; planted on well-drained Pinole gravelly loam soils at 500 feet elevation, it is among California's most consistent benchmarks for the bright-acid, red-fruit coastal Pinot style.

Auction Lots

1,033

Avg Price / Bottle

$77

Top Vintage

2014

Price Range

$22 – $561

In the Glass

Extreme California Coast Pinot Noir: bright red cherry, cranberry, wild strawberry, and dried rose with bracing natural acidity and earthy, mineral depth. Whole-cluster inclusion adds spice, forest floor, and structural tannin. Savoy Vineyard is the most lifted and elegant; The Haven is more structured and mineral. Chardonnay shows citrus, green apple, and a nervy Burgundian tension from the cold coastal climate. All wines share a lean, precise quality prioritizing freshness and site expression over richness and extraction.

Portfolio

Wine	Colour	Avg Price	Lots Sold	Top Vintage
Cerise Vineyard Pinot Noir	Red	$81	123	2015
The Pivot Vineyard Pinot Noir	Red	$77	102	2014
Pinot Noir	Red	$70	101	2009
Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir	Red	$82	100	2015
The Haven Pinot Noir	Red	$83	96	2014
Mays Canyon Pinot Noir	Red	$72	84	2014
Hirsch Pinot Noir	Red	$83	78	2014
B.A. Thieriot Vineyard Pinot Noir	Red	$82	73	2014
B.A. Thieriot Vineyard Chardonnay	White	$68	59	2012
One Acre Pinot Noir	Red	$84	48	2012
Les Larmes Pinot Noir	Red	$61	39	2007
Wendling Vineyard Block E Pinot Noir	Red	$71	39	2016
Platt Pinot Noir	Red	$69	38	2014
Roman Pinot Noir	Red	$78	30	2015
Charles Heintz Chardonnay	White	$70	23	2016

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Littorai is based in the California wine region.

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