Ribolla Gialla is a Friulian white grape almost unheard of outside Italy, brought to Napa in 2001 from cuttings of Josko Gravner’s famous vineyard and planted at the foot of Mt. Veeder. The block – now owned by the Bengier family and farmed meticulously by Steve Matthiasson – sits on deep alluvial gravelly clay-loam in densely planted rows, with vine-to-vine competition encouraged. Arnot-Roberts ferments it cleanly (no skin contact here) and ages it in used French oak for ten months. The result is textural and honeyed but lit up by a quick beam of citrus acidity. A genuine California oddity, beautifully realized.