| 2004
Napa Valley Dolcetto di Nonno
((( back
Nonno immigrated to California from Northern Italy and brought his passion
for food, wine, art, and family tradition. The Buoncristiani brothers,
Nonno’s grandsons, planted Dolcetto to be crafted into a wine as
a tribute to their roots, and in honor of Nonno.
Rarely grown outside of Italy, we fortunately found a great source of
Dolcetto for planting material. The budwood came from famed viticulturalist
John Caldwell, known for his rare clonal collection of multiple varieties.
Together with our friends, we brothers planted our Clone 69 Dolcetto
in Yountville in a site warm enough to ensure an ultra ripe wine yet
cool enough to mirror the Northwestern Piedmont region of Italy, Dolcetto’s
origin. 2004 marks the first vintage in which we also sourced Dolcetto
from the Unti Vineyard in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley.
We instill our strict viticultural practices at these exclusive sites
and thus ensure our highest standard of quality. The best wines are
made in the vineyard and with Dolcetto this is especially true. The
typical large crop set by Dolcetto is thinned to one cluster per shoot
and the huge clusters that remain are trimmed to half their size to
achieve cluster uniformity and concentration of varietal flavor.
Following harvest, we cold soaked the lots for two days, then initiated
fermentation slowly with an Italian yeast strain that was isolated from
a Piedmont vineyard. During fermentation we hand punched the cap five
times a day, extracting the rich flavor, color, and tannin from the
thick skins. The small batches were kept separate during fermentation,
after pressing, and throughout the first year of aging in French oak
barrels. During the second year of barrel aging, the vineyard components
were blended together to create optimum complexity while retaining balance,
varietal character, and superior quality.
We, the Buoncristiani brothers, take pride in performing all aspects
of enology, viticulture, wine production, and art design in order to
share with you a true expression of our winemaking passion.
To
You and Your Nonno, SALUTE!
|
| VARIETY |
Dolcetto |
| APPELATION |
Napa
Valley & Sonoma |
| HARVEST |
September
6th & 11th, 2004 |
| AGING |
Sixteen
months in French oak barrels, 33% new oak |
| CASES |
110 |
|
