Fine Disregard Del Barba Mataro

Fred Del Barba can still remember playing amongst these vines as a boy — and they were already renowned for the quality of their grapes. Planted in the late 1920s in the pure sand of Contra Costa County, just over a mile from the California Delta, the Del Barba vineyard is a living piece of California wine history growing in Fred’s own backyard.

The 2021 Del Barba Mataro is a wine of deceptive concentration. Lifted aromatics draw you in, and the palate delivers far more depth and structure than the nose might suggest — a hallmark of old-vine, sand-grown fruit that has nothing to prove and everything to give.

Appellation: Contra Costa County | Vineyard: Del Barba | Planted: Late 1920s | Soil: Pure sand, own-rooted