2021 Frediani Valdiguié

Boysenberry and fresh, ripe strawberries on the nose. Vibrant and juicy on the palate with tart cherry and a bright refreshing finish. MB (2/22)

Valdiguié is the passenger pigeon of California grapes—once widely planted, were it not for a few admirable growers like Jim Frediani, who value tradition over trend, it would be unknown. Twenty-five percent of the grapes were fermented as whole cluster to accentuate fruit. Intended for early consumption, this is an ideal medium bodied summer red. JO (11/21)

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, uncrushed 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: 21 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: 2021 was one of driest years on record, with no spring rains to help out the vines. As a result, our harvest was quite early, and yields were down by 25-40%.

Harvest Date: 8 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.6˚
TA: 6.45 g/L
pH: 3.81
Fermentation: 100% whole cluster pressed; natural primary and secondary
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, 57 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: 88.9

No. of Tasting Notes: 26

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