Winemaker Notes
This vintage shows off freshness, wonderful fruit tones, spice, and pepper laden perfume built around a core of flat-out delicious fruit character. This one should be a great crowd-pleaser.
Blend: 76% Zinfandel, 11% Carignan, 5% Petite Sirah, 4% Grenache, 3% Cinsault, 1% Assorted Mixed Varieties
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Dynamic and generous, this Zin combines old-school briar with sleek suppleness, serving up stylish flavors of raspberry and cherry accented by savory pepper, cinnamon and garrigue tones that sail on the rich finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Consistently an exceptional value and representation of the estate, the 2022 Zinfandel Old Vine is the estate's signature wine, accounting for approximately half of their production, coming from vines averaging over 80 years old. Pouring a magenta/light purple color, it exhibits notes of fresh, ripe raspberries, peppercorn, and floral perfume, maintaining lovely clarity throughout. Medium-bodied, with a fine, silky texture, it has great lift and ripe acidity. They used large barrels and demi-muids to keep tension in the wine in this warm vintage.
The winery’s objectives are:
To channel the fruit of ancient vines into powerful, elegant, and distinctly Californian wines.
To spread the gospel of Syrah in California by sourcing fruit from great terroirs throughout the North Coast.
To proclaim the greatness of Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by sparing no expense on wines of uniqueness and personality.
To reclaim rose’ from the excesses of saignee and focus on precision, delicacy, aromatics, and food friendliness.
To make fascinating and quixotic white wines from unique sites and interesting varietals.
To dream big but keep production low!
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.