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92 Pts | North Coast Wine Challenge | April 2023
Gold | North Coast Wine Challenge | April 2023
91 Pts | Wine Enthusiast | February 2023
Tasting Notes
A classic old-vine Zinfandel with abundant aromas of fresh picked berries, strawberry preserves and warm toasty spices. The flavors are layered with notes of raspberry preserves, pomegranate, dried cranberry and a hint of licorice. The finish is long, smooth and deep with a touch of acidity for balance.
Vintage Notes
The 2020 growing season enjoyed near-perfect growing conditions. With minimal rain this winter, the vines were awakened with ideal, moderate spring-time temperatures and no frost threat to the developing buds. Veraison occurred 7-10 days earlier than previous years due to the temperate weather. Even daytime temperatures and cool nights throughout the summer months with a few short-lived heat spikes allowed for excellent flavor development.
Vineyard Notes
The grapes in our Sonoma County “Old Vines” Zinfandel come from vineyards in Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. Planted 50 to more than 100 years ago, many of these historic vines are planted on St. George rootstock and are head-pruned and dry-farmed, producing low yields of fruit with highly concentrated, intense flavors and aromas.
Winemaker Notes
The grapes are gently de-stemmed and crushed before cold-soaking for three days to extract optimal color and flavor. The fruit is then inoculated with many different yeast strains to build complexity, then fermented in separate lots using a combination of pump overs and delestage to soften tannins. Secondary malolactic fermentation occurs in French oak barrels. The wine ages in barrel for sixteen months before final blending and bottling.
