Idlewild Wines Flora and Fauna White

The brainchild of Sam Bilbro, Idlewild focuses entirely on Piedmontese varieties grown in California. In our humble opinions, these are the best iterations of Italian grapes being made outside of Italy. Oh yeah, Sam is the some of Marietta Cellars founder Chris Bilbro, his brother Scott now runs that operation, and his other brother Jake runs Limerick Lane. The Bilbro boys are as nice as they come, and their wines are equally delightful

I love aromatic whites that manage to maintain dryness and crisp acidity, and this wine does that effortlessly. Fruit comes from the Fox Hills Vineyard, planted by the wonderfully eccentric Lowell Stone in the late-1980's, and this site provides the wine with its aromatic richness. The balance of grapes come from Lost Hills Ranch, a site that Sam's dad Chris planted in 2001 and that Sam now manages himself. This site is gives the wine its vibrancy and brightness. All in all, it all just works.

'The 2021 White Flora and Fauna is a rich, heady blend of 40% Arneis, 30% Muscat Canelli, 10% Cortese, 10% Favorita and 10% Erbaluce. Apricot, ginger, spice and dried flowers are all amplified in this gorgeous, super-expressive white from Idlewild. The 2021 is atypically rich, but superb.' - Antonio Galloni - Vinous Media - 92 points