Luna Matta Vineyard Aglianico
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2035
🍷 Vintage Profile
The 2022 growing season in Paso Robles was characterized by ongoing drought and moderate summer temperatures, punctuated by a historic, prolonged heat dome in early September. The thick-skinned, late-ripening Aglianico at high-elevation Luna Matta weathered the extreme thermal spike effectively, maintaining its structural integrity and vibrant natural acidity thanks to the parcel's cooling marine breezes and limestone soils. The resulting wine shows intense phenolic concentration, firm and muscular tannins, and dark, savory fruit profiles rather than overripe jamminess. Approaching early maturity in 2026, this vintage will reward another 2 to 3 years of bottle age and should drink at peak through 2038.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Braised lamb shanks with rosemary, grilled dry-aged ribeye with charred mushrooms, wild boar ragù with pappardelle
✨ Technical Specifications
Perched at high elevations in the Adelaida District, Luna Matta Vineyard provides steep, calcareous limestone slopes and a sharp diurnal rhythm ideal for late-ripening southern Italian varieties. The Aglianico planted here is farmed according to strict certified organic principles. In the cellar, whole-cluster influence is calibrated against native-yeast fermentation in neutral containers or concrete, followed by extended maturation in neutral French oak demi-muids and puncheons to tame the variety's formidable structural frame without masking its savory core.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 2001 by Cris and JoAnn Cherry, Villa Creek Cellars began as an artisanal project to craft Rhone-inspired wines for the couple's acclaimed downtown Paso Robles restaurant before evolving into a premier estate winery. Situated along Peachy Canyon Road in the steep Adelaida District foothills of westside Paso Robles, the operation centers around the 60-acre MAHA Estate, ascending to elevations near 1,800 feet. The rugged site is distinguished by calcareous limestone and Monterey shale soils, maritime afternoon breezes, and pronounced diurnal temperature shifts. Farming adheres strictly to Demeter Biodynamic and Regenerative Organic certifications, utilizing cover crops and rotational sheep grazing to foster soil biodiversity. Winemaking highlights spontaneous native-yeast fermentations, concrete aging vessels, and minimal oak influence to safeguard site expression. Beyond celebrated Rhone-style blends such as Avenger and Willow Creek Cuvee, Villa Creek crafts singular varietal expressions including the organically farmed Luna Matta Vineyard Aglianico.
🍇 Grapes
Aglianico
🍷 ABV
14.5%