2022 Frediani Valdiguié

Aromatics of strawberry, anise, and fresh herbs, with focused flavors of tangy cranberry, strawberries, and earth, accented by white pepper notes. SR (12/22)

Valdiguié, a varietal from the southwest of France, is a lesson in California’s rich and varied history. Once widely planted, Jim Frediani’s old, dry-farmed vines are among the few remaining. Twenty-five percent of the grapes were fermented as whole clusters and the rest were de-stemmed and fully crushed. This refreshing, medium-bodied red wine will be at its best over the next three years. SR (12/22)

Since the 1970s, Jim Frediani (pronounced with a hard “a”) has been farming his family’s vineyard that spans the Silverado Trail. Valdiguié was once widely planted in California but known by the misleading name of Napa Gamay. We have found some valdiguié throughout mixed vineyards in Alexander Valley, particularly in Whitton block 101 of our Geyserville Vineyard. In our pursuit of quality, we continually experiment with various approaches to fermentation. This wine looks at fermenting grapes as whole, un-crushed clusters in an enclosed tank. The resulting wine is light in color, aromatic, fruit forward, soft and sensuous. It is intended for immediate consumption.

Rainfall: 18 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Early May
Weather: Calistoga, at the northern tip of Napa Valley, gets quite warm during the growing season and 2022 was no exception. Spring rains helped the vines get through the summer and grapes were harvested in early September.

Harvest Date: 5 September
Grapes: Average Brix 23.0˚
TA: 6.10 g/L
pH: 3.43
Fermentation: 25% carbonic maceration, 75% traditional fermentation. Natural primary and secondary (malolactic) fermentation.
Aging: 5 months in stainless steel tanks

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested, grapes; whole-cluster pressed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 42.5 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 89.5

No. of Tasting Notes: 14

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