Winemaker Notes
Tis is new style of Amador County Zinfandel for us that is made in an older historic-style. This wine is from one of their Amador ranches that is head-trained, dry-farmed organically, and hand-harvested. It is a beautiful hillside site with that classic, vermilion-colored, Sierra Series decomposed granite soil. The grapes were partially-crushed, partially whole-cluster, and native fermented in a closed tank where there was some carbonic fermentation. Tis created an enjoyable and
quaffable Zinfandel that has a beautiful lavender floral quality. It also shows savory notes of violet, mountain sage, and yerba buena. Tis lively Zinfandel is meant to be consumed at a young age, but should age well for a few years.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Bill Easton’s partial-carbonic Zinster departs from his other zinfandels. This one is all cranberry and raspberry scents, lean and chewy, with a bright, juicy berry finish that’s simple and irresistible.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Intended as a hearty table wine, the 2021 Zinster Estate Lot 1852 is from a heritage clone of Zinfandel and made in a semi-carbonic style using 100% whole-cluster. The year 1852 is when Zinfandel is thought to have arrived in California. Here, winemaker Bill Easton is trying to capture what it might have tasted like using the equipment of the day. It’s endearingly rustic in berry fruit and vanilla, with bright underlying acidity that balances the subtle ripeness.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine shows great energy on the nose and the palate, infusing aromas and flavors of tart cranberry, just-ripe raspberry and strawberry, and plump blueberries with complementary notes of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate and toasted wood. The concentration of fruit is an excellent match to the mature, mouth-coating tannic structure.
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.
