Found this on the list in a little mom & pop, beach-side, red-checkered-tablecloth Italian resty, alongside some REALLY pedestrian Chianti and local plonk… and hey: Napa Valley Sangiovese??? I mean–you pretty much have my full attention there. Turns out it’s a Silverado Vineyards thing, with a label that–based on comments from basically everyone who saw it on the table–sells the wine.
Medium ruby, clear and bright with a thin pink rim. Mildly fruity nose with outstanding burnt rubber and viscous vegetal nuances: a bright gritty diesel grime coating pie-cherry and grapefruit. Weediness is impossible to ignore: it massages the fruit and drives a spire of briar through the rich bouquet. Napa has a *smell*–and this isn’t it. But then again: I can’t name the last Napa Sangio I had. It’s invigorating and original, a gorgeous nod to the variety and classic Italian wines.
Tasting it grinds all that funk into the palate with gobs of grainy acid. It’s rather shrill and thin–and that’s a GOOD thing. Cherry is definitely of the pie-variety, and with savory manipulations of mineral-citrus throughout. This is a gorgeous little wine–$42 bucks on a restaurant list, so you can do the math on that–quite possibly the most perfect California wine I’ve ever had in an Italian resty. The fragrantly bitter finish feels almost floral in texture, BEGGING from more rich sauce: and the viscosity of the whole package is perfect for the table. It reminds me of Joel Peterson’s Once & Future programme–it’s just SUCH a classic nod in a vast landscape of Napa-Sonoma *polish*.
2018 BORREO ‘Single Vineyard’ Sangiovese Napa Valley 14.2
Stephen McConnell 