A ghost note, Brad Friedman will explain, is a note written into the music that carries a rhythm but no clear pitch or accent - you don't really hear it, you feel it, and it's what gives a groove its texture. That's the whole thesis behind Ghostnote, and Super Santa Cruz is where he tests it: Super Tuscan thinking transplanted to Ascona Vineyard, high in the cool Santa Cruz Mountains. Cabernet Sauvignon leads, with Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Negroamaro, a little Nebbiolo and a splash of Merlot along for the ride. The farming is organic and the winemaking deliberately restrained, so the site's elevation and mineral bones do the talking rather than the cellar. There is honestly nothing else quite like it coming out of the region.