Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Nebbiolo, like the rest of the Giornata portfolio, remains true to the classic Italian style of the grape while embracing its generous California fruit. Pale garnet, it offers pleasantly rustic aromas of dried red berries, desiccated rose petals, leather and orange peel with earthy tones. The medium-bodied palate is bright and lifted with fine, grainy tannins, bursts of juicy acidity and layered, amaro-like spices on the long finish.
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Decanter
Compelling and subtle old rose aromas with a hint of blood. Palate is intensely savoury and ferrous; driven and vibrant as all Giornata’s wines. The intensity of flavours continues throughout the palate, not letting up for one moment. This demands food and would enliven any table. The high acidity ensures a long life ahead – at least eight to 10 years.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.