2000 Vinalia (Nebbiolo)

In this vintage we used Mike Richmond's Carneros vineyard as the base and also purchased both Nebbiolo and Sangiovese fruit from the Atlas Peak Vineyard developed by Antinori. As in prior years it was our goal to make the Napa Valley equivalent of Barolo. This vintage ripened easily without excess heat or rain. Vintages that are kind to Cabernet tend to have the same effect on Nebbiolo, because like Cabernet it is a late ripener.

Our winemaking is traditional and hands off. Mike terms it 'benign neglect'. The vatting is on the short side to control tannins. The barrel aging in nuetral oak is on the long side as Nebbiolo tends to age slowly in both barrel and bottle.

This wine is typical of the catagory. Like good Barolo it has a great deal of perfume as well as extract. This is an old fashioned wine in the sense that it needs the accompaniment of food to shine. It's not a wine for casual sipping out by the pool. It's more for sitting down for some serious grilled steak or pasta carbonara. These wines last a long time. The 1993 our first bottling is still drinking very well