A cool year (2021) from Napa Valley. Frost, rain shaped the season — read it bottle-down below.
Bud-break came late and slow — the vine took its time, and the aromatics it set ran high and cool.
Fewer berries survived the cold flowering — and fewer berries means each one carries more. Concentration is decided here, not in the cellar.
Ripening crept along; sugars stayed modest. The lower alcohol is not a choice — it is this cool August, bottled.
A long, cool hang let acidity stay bright while tannin softened — the spine that will carry it.
Aromas of orchard fruit, citrus and wet stone; a full body carried by soft, rounded acidity and fine, supple tannin. Drinking well now through 2029.
Hand-harvested, wild-yeast fermentation in a mix of stainless and old oak; minimal handling, unfined where possible. Bottled with a light touch of sulphur.
2021 in Napa Valley: frost, rain, a cool year overall (warmth index 35/100). The structure above is the readable consequence of exactly that weather — the descent shows you where each number was made.
Cellar at 12–14°C. Serve chilled, 8–10°C; a short decant suffices.
Tasted exactly like the page promised — you can feel the hot August in the glass. Bought two more.
The season-descent sold me, and the bottle delivered. Brilliant length.
Beautiful now; I suspect even better in three years. Packed and delivered cold.
