Sourced from a small block in a dry-farmed, organically-grown vineyard located in the heart of Napa Valley’s Rutherford bench, this completely dry wine balances Riesling’s natural aromatic richness with a core of fresh acidity. White peach, citrus, mineral, and floral aromas are framed by a medium-weight structure with bright acidity, a savory mouthfeel, and a touch of grip to the finish. Being light on its feet keeps it refreshing, while retaining firm structure and aromatic stuffing gives it depth.
Riesling in Rutherford?
Made justly famous by its superb benchland Cabernet Sauvignons, Rutherford is nowadays a somewhat unexpected place to find Riesling grapes. However, some of the first winegrowers in the Napa Valley were German immigrants, and naturally propagated varieties that they were familiar with from the vineyards of their homeland, including Riesling. In fact, by the 1890s, there were over 1,000 acres of Riesling planted in Rutherford alone, as the region’s Italian winegrowers also came to appreciate Riesling’s high quality and ability to ripen easily in the warm California climate. The 1/2-acre, head-trained plot on the Rossi property is a holdover from these early days of California winemaking, and a lasting connection to Napa’s viticultural history.
Winemaking
2.29 tons of Riesling were picked on August 23rd, 2014 at 21.0 brix. After being foot-stomped and given skin contact for about 3 hours, the grapes were pressed and separated into two lots. The first lot (about 2/3 of the fruit) went into a stainless steel tank and fermented for about 16 days at 55F. The second lot went into 1 stainless steel barrel and 2 neutral oak barrels and saw no temperature control, finishing its fermentation in about 20 days. Both lots fermented in 2014 on the strength of their native yeast. After fermentation completed, the wines were combined into stainless steel, stabilized, and then barreled down into 2 neutral oak barrels and 4 stainless steel barrels, where they spent the winter on their fine lees. The 2014 was bottled without filtration on April 17th, 2014.
