2020 Star Lane Nebbiolo, Star Lane Vineyard

What is Nebbiolo? A winemaker must always ask themselves questions like these when handling an old variety in a new area.  We were confident about trialing this variety because of its natural vigor and tolerance for warmer climates, but what would that mean for its nature from Star Lane Vineyard? Having tasted several of the classics from Piedmont (not exclusively but principally Barbaresco and Barolo) we trusted the vineyard and variety to produce the aromatics, and focused upon the acid and tannin balance which can be tricky in Nebbiolo where tannin is tempted to get out of hand for a wine that otherwise feels like Pinot Noir.  What we discovered was wonderful. Structure in the wine built quickly during the fermentation and we limited mixing to keep extraction slow.  After barreling down into 400 liter neutral oak barrels we kept in eye on the evolution of the balance between grippy tannins and the levity brought by good acidity and employed our best tool: patience.  After 26 months in barrel, we decided to bottle.  The wine is built to last, but has more up front fruit than even we anticipated making it a unique and pleasurable offering this area.