VIEW FROM THE CELLAR

Giornata

Another new to me this time around was Giornata, based in Paso Robles, who is specializing in Italian varietals and also making simply stellar . Giornata is the brainchild of Brian and Stefanie Terrizzi, who have made the pilgrimage from more standard 72 California varietals at their various previous positions to passionate and very gifted producers of truly Italian-styled wines from top in California’s Central Coast. This is not something that I had ever thought about as overly promising, though probably much of my lack of enthusiasm for Italian varietals on American soil may have to do with the rather desultory examples of I have tasted over the years from California. Clearly, the Giornata wines are cut from a very different cloth! I was absolutely enthralled by the quality of their very classically-styled Nebbiolo, Aglianico and other bottlings and look forward to following their progress with each passing .

2014 Vermentino- Giornata (Paso Robles) The 2014 Vermentino from Brian and Stefanie Terrizzi is excellent and very classi- cally made (like all of their wines), fermented and raised in stainless steel and bottled fairly early to preserve freshness and bounce on the palate. The bouquet is lovely, wafting from the glass in a vibrant blend of apple, green olive, salty soil tones, citrus peel and a nice topnote of freshlyculled herbs. On the palate the is pure, fullish, crisp and complex, with lovely minerality and a long, complex and zesty finish. A lovely Vermentino. 2016-2020. 91.

2014 - Giornata (Paso Robles) The 2014 Barbera from Giornata is fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised primarily in a thousand liter foudre, with the overflow finding its way into old casks for its relatively short elevage. The 2014 is a bright and zesty wine, wafting from the glass in mix of cherries, pomegranate, charred wood, a touch of tariness, nutskin and a whisper of fresh herb tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, tangy and rock solid at the core, with impressive complexity, just a touch of tannin and fine length and grip. This is really a lovely example of this underrated varietal and will have no trouble aging five to seven years. 2016- 2023. 91.

2013 Aglianico “French Camp ”- Giornata (Paso Robles) The 2013 Aglianico from the French Camp Vineyard in Paso Robles is one of two bottlings of this fine varietal that Giornata produces. This is their cooler site, as the vines sit at 1600 feet of elevation and the sugars mount slowly through the summers here. The were originally planted for one of Bonny Doon’s bottlings and only four-tenths of a hectare remains of Aglianico in this vineyard. The 2013 vintage was raised in ten percent new casks and is nicely cool in profile, coming in at 13.2 percent octane and offering up a very fine, youthful nose of sweet dark berries, roasted meats, a touch of tree bark, gentle notes of garrigue, a bit of cigar wrapper and a fine base of dark soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a fine core and nascent complex- ity, ripe, chewy tannins and excellent length and grip on the still fairly primary, bright and very promising finish. This needs some bottle age to really blossom, but it is a beautifully made wine and will be dynamite in the fullness of time. 2021-2050. 93+.

2012 Nebbiolo “Luna Matta Vineyard”- Giornata (Paso Robles) The 2012 Nebbiolo from Giornata’s Luna Matta Vineyard is an excellent wine that really recalls a fine, classically-styled Barbaresco in its complexity and impressive transparency down to its underlying soil. The wine is made in a classic Piemontese manner, with indigenous yeasts, long macerations and fully twenty-four months aging in older casks prior to bottling. The bouquet is excellent, offering up a youthfully complex blend of red and black cherries, licorice, tar, a bit of gamebird, lovely herb tones, a superb base of soil and a topnote of camphor. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, chewy and beautifully focused, with a fine core, excellent balance and nascent complexity, ripe tannins and a very long, soil-driven and properly structured finish. This is still a puppy and needs at least another five or six years to really start to blossom, but it is beautifully detailed already and its ultimate quality is very easy to read. Clearly the finest nebbiolo I have tasted outside of Barolo or Barbaresco! 2021-2050+. 94.