2012 Ribolla Gialla Vare Vineyard Napa Valley

Duncan Meyers and Nathan Roberts are unapologetic fans of high-acid, emphatically racy white wines but are leery of excessively sulfured whites "where anything subtle is beaten down by the SO2."When I visited their winery this spring one thing Duncan said about a particular chardonnay vineyard stood out:"you wouldn't want to live there."He was referring to the cold and windy climate that makes for a long growing season and necessitates late harvesting "at full phenolic maturity but with low Brix levels and good retention of natural acidity."Meyers and Roberts are such acid freaks that they've actually taken to roasting their own (excellent) coffee from green beans to a very light color because they find all of the commercially available coffees they've tried acid-deficient.Interestingly, their red wines, while also decidedly on the fresh side, can show real heft and fruit sweetness, but nothing that screams "New World" in any way.Yields were higher than usual in 2012, as might be expected, but the cool sites that work "never throw a large crop anyway, so a larger crop is a relative thing."