Giaconda vineyard was established by Rick Kinzbrunner, a mechanical engineer who became interested in wine in the early 1970's. Rick then spent the next ten years working in the industry, travelling and following his passion for wine. After a brief stint in New Zealand, he studied at Davis University in California and worked at some of the most respected wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys (namely Stag's Leap, Simi and Matanzas Creek). In Europe he worked for the Moueix group in Bordeaux, co-owner of the fabled Chateau Petrus.

Cranberry red in colour; earthy and noble with a delightful aroma of sweet tar mingling with a flourish of dewy rose garden. As it opens up, old polished leather notes appear and augment the bright red cherry fruit. Supple and fruitful on the palate; packed with gobs of spiced red berry fruit dusted with a moreish layer of fine savoury tannins enabling a palate with both focus and length. It is fair to say this really nails the nomenclature of nebbiolo - rose petal and tar. This wine reeks of complexity, balance and nobility. Its sheer class and poise are obvious from the very first tasting. It certainly breaks new ground for nebbiolo.

Aromas of wet slate, black cherries, sweet tobacco, vanilla pod, garden roses and orange blossom rise out of the glass of this 2019 Nebbiolo. I have been sitting here smelling this wine for nigh on 10 minutes, trying to tease out the notes that I know will come eventually. On the nose, behind all the uber-pretty floral and mineral aromas, is the heady scent of warm, spiced fruitcake (fresh grated nutmeg, orange peel, cinnamon, currant, a hint of date... some ginger?). In the mouth, the tannins are fresh and gravelly, with salted licorice and arnica root dusting the edges of the fruit. With blood orange, inflections of resin/tar and layers of dark chocolate and mulberry, this is a very impressive, very elegant release of this wine. Bravo. Date: Apr 2023; Drink: 2023-2043; Rating: 95+ Points; Erin Larkin; Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate

Medium crimson. Beautiful fragrant red cherry strawberry, hint marzipan, roasted walnut aromas with hints of dark chocolate. Wonderfully complex and supple with red cherry pastille, strawberry, chinotto flavours, a hint of flint/graphite notes, fine loose knit chalky/ velvety tannins, superb mid palate viscosity and underlying marzipan, vanilla roasted walnut notes. Slinky and minerally at the finish. Very impressive with lovely density, silkyiness and torque if that’s not a contradiction! Date: Apr 2023; Drink: now–2028; Alcohol: 14% Rating: 96 Points; Andrew Caillard MW; The Vintage Journal