Birichino Old Vines Napa Valley Semillon 2022

The Yount Mill Vineyard Semillon is one of the oldest plantings of the varietal in Napa Valley. The nose shows beeswax, nectarine, lemon pith, and a delicate crushed rock minerality. The palate is lighter with zippy acid and a flavor set of citrus, beeswax, and white stone fruits. (11.5% ABV) - D&M TASTING NOTES

PRODUCER NOTES:

OVERVIEW: “Sémillon is known to produce some of the world's most age-worthy white wines; properly cellared, we expect it will turn everything it touches to a waxy, spicy, nuanced gold.”

VINEYARD: “We may be swimming against the current, but we are proud to continue the 19th century tradition of making wine from Sémillon grown organically in the Napa Valley. The Pelissa/Hoxsey family have been farmers here since 1903, and planted these head-trained, dry-farmed Sémillon vines at Yount Mill Vineyard in 1962. Farmed organically without irrigation, these vines could only survive in the heart of Cabernet country if they produced something distinctive.”

PRODUCTION: "We harvested this in the predawn hours of August 26th, and brought it down in our Ram pickup to the winery where we gently pressed it, settled the juice, and then fermented it native in stainless steel before racking it only once into a mix of stainless and old French oak barrels for 9 months cellaring before bottling late in the Spring of 2023. We have slightly modified the élévage each year, moving from half stainless and half neutral barrels to roughly 80% stainless with this new vintage. At barely 11.5% alcohol, we assumed a significant percentage of neutral barrels would be required to provide sufficient body to the wine, even with completed malolactic. We were mistaken. Yount Mill produces an uncommonly condensed wine even at these very modest levels of ripeness,"