Traditional Piedmontese winemaking straight from Mendocino! Don’t miss your chance to SAVE $XX A BOTTLE on this rare California Nebbiolo, the grape behind Barolo.
Well this is certainly a unique one that we’re delighted to bring to you today. Nebbiolo is of course the grape behind the famed Barolo wines of the Piedmont region in Italy. This example from Mendocino is rated at 92 points by Antonio Galloni at Vinous, and we put it right in that same category.
It’s lovingly and painstakingly made by Sam Bilbro, whose Idlewild Winery is focused on Piedmont – both the grapes and the traditional winemaking techniques. Here’s how he describes Idlewild’s mission and how he made this wine:
Idlewild has a relatively concise aim within a broad context: to produce wines of exceptional balance and beauty. It is a journey to pursue Italy’s Piedmont in the elevated hills of Mendocino and Sonoma Counties, and to find the sides of these varieties that are intriguing, delicious, and haunting.
Each wine is unique and treated as such, though the common thread is balancing depth and seriousness with vibrancy and joy. Emphasis is on the vineyard followed by minimalist winemaking techniques. While not dogmatic in practice, an honest and sustainable approach is fundamental in making wines of purity.
Lost Hills Ranch, our home vineyard, sits in the elevated hills of the Yorkville Highlands in southwest Mendocino. The schist-veined sandstone is planted to 15 year old Arneis, Cortese, Dolcetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo.
Winemaking: I always look towards traditional methods from Piemonte while focusing on the fact that I am in Northern California. The Nebbiolo very much comes from this place of balancing tradition reimagined in new soil. The grapes were left 100% whole cluster and foot trodden. The wine was fermented via native yeast in Slovenien oak vats and then topped and sealed up for an extended maceration of nearly ninety total days on skins (and stems). This is old fashioned, but it yielded amazing depth and spectrum in a decidedly ethereal feeling wine. A year in Slovenien oak vats, then a year in large format Slovenien oak Botti, and finally a year in bottle is the timeline of it’s elevage.
Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? It is! Accordingly, it normally retails for $60 a bottle.
Today we’re slashing that price BUT with 2 years in oak and only 325 cases produced, this deal won’t last long. You know what to do…
For the next day you can get 3 bottles of the 2020 Idlewild Lost Hills Ranch Nebbiolo for just $XX.95 ($XX.XX/bottle). That’s a discount of XX%, saving you $XX a bottle!
Shipping and Ordering Info
This 3-pack deal is available to ship to the following states: AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV and WY. (These states are dependent on the individual licenses of the offering winery and are not representative of all our deals. Every deal can have different, sometimes more, sometimes less, states available.)
Shipping is a flat $7.99 per order, no matter how many packs you buy. Orders will ship via UPS Ground 5-10 days after the deal ends. If this is your first time ordering please check out the shipping section of our FAQ for more information.
For your convenience you also have the option to select a UPS Store/Access Point to ship to at checkout (with no extra fees) so you don’t have to be home to sign!
Read on for our full review.
Clicking on the Add To Cart button above will take you to our checkout at shop.reversewinesnob.com. Once there you can adjust the quantity of 3-packs in your order. Ends Friday 4/3/2026 at noon (PT).
From the winery:
2020 Idlewild Lost Hills Ranch Nebbiolo, Yorkville Highlands
Vineyard: Lost Hills Ranch sits on a lonely ridge in the Yorkville Highlands. Located near the southwest corner of Mendocino County, the climate is marked by a clash of maritime and continental influence. At 1500 feet of elevation, the vineyard often looks down on the fog hugging the valley below, or transverely, the cooling winds run along the ridge as the heat sinks on warmer days. The soils are comprised of deep fractured sandstone with veins of schist. The vine roots work hard to push deep into the rock, and in turn, a powerful core can be found in the fruit grown here. Holistic and organic practices ensure a healthy site for now and for future generations to come.
Vintage: There are so many things that can be said about 2020. Covid, fires, politics, etc all come to mind in an instant for me. But, the further I think on it, the more I find myself feeling grateful for the luck we had. The season itself was moderate, smooth, and beautiful. We somehow escaped the intensity of the smokey skies or were able to pick before there was an issue. From a viewpoint on the year captured in these bottles, it’s a shame that 2020 will always draw remarks of the hardships of the year, because hidden within the bottle (and we are lucky to get to say this) is a really beautiful vintage.
Wine: The nose is a study in contrasts: cherry, roses, orange peel, and violets are balanced by tar, earth, and sandalwood like spice. The long elevage in large format Slovenien oak lends a retention of freshness while also filling out the structure. The mouthfeel is delicate with modest mid palate richness, and then it gently rolls into firm tannin and a long finish. While a joy to drink now, this wine has many years in its future.
325 cases produced
13.1% Alcohol
Cork
And now on to our review:
The first thing you notice about the 2020 Idlewild Lost Hills Ranch Nebbiolo is that it pours a nice light red in the glass just like it should. Next come lots of minty, tart cherry notes plus some earthiness and floral notes. Touches of citrus zest, tobacco and even more round things out. There’s lots to discover here and it is a very harmonious and cohesive start.
Taking a sip reveals it is much more of the same in the mouth, which is a very good thing! Smooth and medium-bodied, this is wonderfully balanced and has plenty of aging potential.
It ends dry, very long, quite grippy and a bit juicy on the satisfying finish and was even a bit better on day 2. We put this at the high end of our 9 Taste Rating at 92-93 points.
Cheers,
Jon
2020 IDELWILD LOST HILLS RANCH NEBBIOLO
Taste: 9 (92-93 points) Cost: 2
OVERALL RATING: 7.3
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Get the 2020 Idlewild Lost Hills Ranch Nebbiolo 3-Pack while you can! This deal ends Friday 4/3 at noon Pacific.
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