Non-commercial. I was hoping to improve on a Neb I made in '23 from an Uvas Valley site that’s great terroir. (There are pockets of impressive sites down there - washed out ancient river bed. I assume much potential never planted, as well as stuff made into mediocre tourist wines.) The home grower was sidetracked at a critical period. He said total loss, but i salvaged 3 gallons.
A friend who’s planning to go commercial in about a decade and has particular interest in Italian varieties is getting Sangio from my favorite vineyard for it next week, and he’s a fan of what I’ve made from a not too dissimilar site, as happy to join my pivot. We’re taking what’s left from a friend of mine in excess of contracted fruit. Estimated to be 1/4 to 1/2 ton.
The Los Altos Hills Cab today from vines planted in the '70s looked great. 21 brix and having hanged long enough the secondaries were pretty much there. 21 brix seems to be a theme this vintage from what I’ve seen and heard. Ripeness ahead of sugars.
I’m not aware of any other Uvas Valley plantings. The home grower’s typical yield is about 500lbs. This morning I was talking to a legendary vineyard manager. The legacy of the southern Santa Clara Valley is bad wineries. We had several stories of each of us visiting places serving badly flawed wines and the tourist customers raving about how good the wines were and buying bottles. There’s a lot more quality and more wineries down there now, but the wines tend to be over-ripe and over-oaked. There are world-class sites in the mix, and sometimes you can taste what could have been in some of those wines hiding under the Tammy Faye. But, their market doesn’t differentiate between the washed out ancient riverbed site and the rich loam sites. A lot of winemakers know the potential down there, but there’s no incentive. (Or they started off aspiring and caved to what sells.)
The Santa Cruz Mountains has a bit of Neb and people who know how to grow it. Fogarty has some at their Gist Vyd. Lago Lomita has some and sells to a few wineries. (The Sandar & Hem version just got a 95 pt rating and “revelatory” comment from the critic.)
Peter Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon pick this morning for Sandar & Hem. This was the cooler of two blocks Rob now gets. (The other block he added to his program a year or two ago, and was picked a couple weeks ago - not sure exactly when.)
The fruit looked great. I’d guess just under 22 brix, but wouldn’t be surprised if slightly higher.
Yes, pretty sure they have some in the mix of their Italian varieties. I heard something cryptic of someone having a new planting. Martin Ranch has Nebbiolo at their Dos Ninos Vyd., which is SCM adjacent.
Something tells me that this might be a seriously great vintage for folks who’s crop wasn’t too big. I know personally some folks who aren’t fond of thinning crop and I think it bit them in the ass. Things hung too long and had multiple rains on them.
We got Sangiovese from Ascona Vyd and Nebbiolo from Lago Lomita Vyd yesterday. Pictured in the Sangio, which was 21.5 brix 3.35 pH. The Neb was much riper at 25.5 brix 3.31 pH. from a much warmer site.
Those are both Santa Cruz Mountains. 2600’ and 2800’.
