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Old Vines, Zinfandel

Bacchi Vineyard

Russian River Valley

Tasting Notes

This expressive Zinfandel from the historic Bacchi Vineyard opens with enticing aromas of ripe raspberry and baked cherry pie, woven with hints of baking spice and cracked white pepper. On the palate, lush red fruit unfolds with impressive depth—think wild strawberry and brandied cherry—framed by fine-grained tannins and well-integrated structure. Mid-palate vibrancy carries through to a polished, lingering finish where the fruit and spice elements harmonize beautifully, leaving a lasting impression of both power and elegance.

Vintage Notes

Cooler temperatures and an abundance of spring rains in 2023 pushed back the first day of harvest to the beginning of September. The later start and extra ripening time for the fruit allowed flavors and color to develop slowly for depth and concentration. Warm fall days spread harvest out past the end of October for many of the red varieties, with a final pick of Merlot delivered to the winery on November 2.

Vineyard Notes

This vineyard is picked & fermented by its two distinct blocks: This vintage, 70% of the blend came from the “House Block”, which has smaller yields & more mixed varieties, producing a dark-dense wine. 29% came from the adjacent block, known as the “Hill block”, which is almost exclusively Zinfandel & makes a wine much brighter in fruit with spicier aromatics. The remaining 1% of the blend comes from a small Petite Sirah vineyard right down the road from the Bacchi Ranch.

Winemaker Notes

The grapes undergo a five-day cold soak before fermentation to extract optimal color and aroma. After primary fermentation, the wine is pumped into French oak barrels, 20% new, where it undergoes natural malolactic fermentation during its elevage before blending in a 1% kiss of Petite Sirah right before bottling.