2018 Massican Winery Annia White Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

97 pts: Golden State’s Defining White

There are a million reasons why I am absolutely thrilled to introduce our first allocation of Dan Petroski’s 2018 Massican Annia. It’s not just because it earned a stunning 97 points from Wine Enthusiast, or that the last vintage of Annia made Wine Spectator’s Top 100, or that Massican is on the wine lists at The French Laundry, Bouchon, The Restaurant at Meadowood, and FIG in Charleston. It’s not even because winemaker Dan was the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2017 Winemaker of the Year, or that I know Wine Access members will absolutely adore this wine, which is doing no less than taking California white wine into the future.

I’m excited because Dan is a friend with whom I go back almost a decade. He was one of the first people to welcome me when I moved to Napa Valley. I tried to return the favor by promoting his first vintage of Massican at the wine shop I was working for, and in doing so, I inadvertently broadcast news of Dan’s engagement—before his parents even knew.

Back then, Massican was brand-new. Dan had found some Napa Valley farmers growing some unique Italian varieties, and bought enough grapes to make three different wines, totaling just 400 cases. One of those wines is Annia, the 97-point standard-bearing white that we have for just $30.

“I started Massican with a slightly nostalgic, romantic view of wine,” he told me when we caught up recently. He told me about when he lived in Sicily, where the weather called for refreshing white wines, and that’s what they would drink when it was still warm out in the evenings.

Dan is the winemaker at legendary producer Larkmead and he never wanted to stress about selling Massican. So he always kept production “one step behind demand.” But now, considering how Massican has risen in the estimation of wine lovers the world over, that whole “one step behind demand” thing is a stark understatement. There’s just not enough to go around.

Secure your bottles now.

That’s because Massican, and Annia in particular, is simply one of the must-have wines made in California right now. It went from what Dan calls “alt-new-California,” a term that basically describes wines that appeal to wine obsessives, to the Wine Spectator Top 100—a feat that shows wide consumer and critical love. “Consumers have changed, they’re looking for diversity,” Dan says, about the public reception of Annia. As for the unanimous praise to Massican gets from winemakers, writers, and the whole professional wine world? He characterizes it as “a big group hug.”

Annia brings together three grapes: old-vine Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and Chardonnay from the famed Hyde Vineyard in Carneros. “The blend is never scientific,” according to Dan. “It never repeats, and it’s never from a recipe. It’s about ‘What does it smell and feel like?’ I structure the wine like I’m building a house. The Tocai is the walls, the floor is Ribolla—it’s earthy and savory. Then the Chardonnay is the furniture, the accents, the artwork, and the rug that really ties the room together.”

Annia is one of the most exotic and refreshing whites we have come across in a long time—truly a breathtaking effort with high-toned notes of preserved lemon and tart green apple. On the palate, lemon wraps around a core of almond, honey, and chamomile. It’s focused and zesty, and shows exactly why Annia is becoming known the world over as one of California’s defining white wines. I’m thrilled we got an allocation, and can’t wait to share it with you.