WTN 2010 Vermentino - Simone Giusto Cellars

This is the white winner of the year for me. I know nothing about the producing winery: Simone Giusto Cellars - Lone Acre Wines, Fair Play, CA

alc. 13.8% No sign of sweetness, but not sour dry. The fruit aroma is soft peachy. The acid is not over powering rice cherry. It is balanced and clean. This is a simple wine with exceptional balance. This is the first I have tasted the vermentino varietial. I drank 7 bottles of this, which proves it is a winner for me. Sells locally (El Dorado Hills Nugget) for around $15.

Here are some production and tasting notes from the wine maker. They make two wines at year. A few hundred cases.


Simone Giusto

Vermentino

Vineyard: The fruit for this bottling came from a vineyard off Steiner road in Amador County. The rows run across the face of an east facing slope. Minimal irrigation is used to sustain the berries through the hot Sierra Foothill summer. Toward the end of the growing season, the water comes less and less frequently, in a practice called deficit irrigation. This really maximizes the flavors in the last few weeks before harvest. This year we brought in the fruit on Oct 1st. The berries were a bright straw color with some showing a slight blush.

Fermentation: The grapes are destemmed and gently pressed. The juice is then chilled down in a small tank inside the winery. After several days of cold settling, the clear juice is racked off of the solids, and inoculated with Lallemand M69 yeast. The cool fermentation progressed slowly for several weeks, thus retaining the intense fruit aroma and flavors. The alcohol eventually reached 13.8%. Bottling took place on January 17th.

HARVEST DATE: October 1st
SUGAR AT HARVEST: 23.3 Brix
ACID: 6.85 grams/liter
pH: 3.55
ALCOHOL: 13.8%
CASES BOTTLED: 225


Tasting Notes: Aromas of white peach billow up from the glass, along with a hint of ripe grapefruit. Freshness dominates the palate. This is no shy wine! The impression of white peach follows in the mouth, along with crisp nectarine. Tangy citrus tones rise up in the mid palate. Along with the texture some slate minerality peeks in. The finish carries a refreshing wash of Meyer lemon and tangerine.