Winemaker Notes
Blend: 95% Zinfandel, 5% Alicante Bouschet
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Rating 92-94. The 2006 Zinfandel Rossi Ranch, which is a blend of 95% Zinfandel and 5% Alicante Bouschet from a vineyard planted in 1910, is a brilliant wine, dark ruby/purple-tinged with almost head-spinning levels of ground pepper, roasted Provencal herbs, black cherry, raspberry, and even blacker fruits. The wine hits the palate with admirable minerality, full-bodied opulence, and stunning purity and texture. This is a superb Zinfandel that will make a believer of even those in the anti-Zinfandel crowd. It is a beauty that should drink nicely for at least a decade. Sadly, the production is tiny.
Range: 92-94 -
Wine Spectator
Big and chunky, but complex, with wild berry and bittersweet chocolate aromas and concentrated blueberry, sage and smoky licorice flavors that finish with ripe but rustic tannins.
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.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.