Winemaker Notes
Their Estate vineyard is organically certified and yields a beautifully pure, balanced, and lifted contemporary styled Zinfandel. Vintage 2022 gave them wines of sophistication, subtlety, and finesse, emphasizing savory and spice notes rather than overt fruitiness. A wine showing complex, though seemingly contrasting, floral and savory aromas more typically associated with old world wines and food friendliness.
This translates to wild herb and chaparral aromas, followed by red fruit flavors of ripe raspberries, boysenberry, and cranberry. A juicy, fresh, and energized palate feel keeps the wine refreshing and racy. We attribute these qualities to the limestone-based soils found in only a few parts of the world. Such soils keep these full-bodied wines lively, vibrant, and energetic. Creating the elusive balance so often missing given the full tilt nature of Zinfandel. The 2022 vintage keeps this offering from veering off the rails as Zin is wont to do.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Vibrant and lifted nose of cherries, plums and wild raspberries. The palate is full-bodied with a seamless integration of tannins and acidity, showing notes of fresh blueberries, red currants, mocha and lavender. Very focused and high toned.
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Vinous
A dusty display of blue and purple flowers comes together with citrus-tinged blackberries and spice as the 2022 Zinfandel smolders up from the glass. This is soft and round in feel. Vibrant acidity and saline mineral tones up front perfectly contrast its core of ripe wild berry fruits. It finishes with staining length and concentration but ample freshness, leaving a crunchy sensation as the palate salivates for more. This incredibly fresh and finessed Zinfandel finished at just 14% alcohol.
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Wine Enthusiast
Clean red fruit aromas pop with cinnamon and mace elements, offering a juicy profile that’s not overdone. The palate is well spiced and laced with easygoing, rather delicious flavors of strawberry and cherry.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.