Dan has an active subscriber list for his Vintage Experiences, as I can attest.  I've heard from them.  I like them!  They like us!!  So does Dan, who messaged yesterday that [Villa Ragazzi] "wine is terrific.  I look forward to the next vintage."   He, and you, will have to wait until the fall of 2012 for that.  In the meantime, whatever the Italian equivalent of "Mangia!" is, enjoy your Sangiovese.  If you want more, talk to me.

I was showing our Sangiovese to Peter Granoff at the Oxbow Wine Merchant in Napa the other day, and noted in passing that we hadn't raised prices in  twelve years.  This surprised him.  His reaction surprised me (am I doing this wrong?) so I decided to do some research.  Not surprisingly, it's complicated.  

Napa Valley prices have gone up significantly since Villa Ragazzi's last release (1998 vintage), then down again with the dot.com bust, and endured more downward pressure in the late 00's thanks to oversupply and an imploding economy.  Prices are now on the upswing following two short vintages.  There isn't enough Sangiovese on the market to study pricing evolution, but the example of Silver Oak Cabernet tells a story:  their 1998 (a vintage unfairly bashed by critics) was released at $70, and some is still available online for prices ranging from $70-$217.  Silver Oak 2009 is listed at $120.   

So I guess I'm doing this wrong.  But it feels right.  

In spite of the trepidation caused by a cold, wet spring followed by a relatively cool growing season-- not to mention plenty of ongoing speculation and warring studies about climate change -- it now appears that 2011 was 10% warmer than 2010, but 4% cooler than the 22-year average measured in Oakville.  Thanks to Pacific Geodata, details here Napa Valley Growing Season at a Glance