Winemaker Notes
Lava Cap is regarded as one of the premier Zinfandel producers in the Sierra Foothills. The 2023 Zinfandel reflects Lava Caps’ goal of creating wines that have ample concentrations and depth, but also expectational balance. Rather than the jammy and brambly flavors so often associated with this grape, this wine shows elegance, with vivid red fruits, great acidity, and moderate tannins. All hallmarks of high elevation expressions of this grapes. The wines balance and brightness make it perfect for Tri-Tip, hamburgers, or Italian food. The grapes are handpicked at moderate sugars and fermented in stainless steel. Aged 24 months in François Frères French oak barrels.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fruit-driven and dense, showing aromas of blackberries, raspberries, plums, licorice and spices. The palate is full-bodied and textural, with firm tannins and balanced acidity, giving a rich and generous finish. Drink or hold.
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.
As home to California’s highest altitude vineyards, El Dorado is also one of its oldest wine growing regions. When gold miners settled here in the late 1800s, many also planted vineyards and made wine to quench its local demand.
By 1870, El Dorado County, as part of the greater Sierra Foothills growing area, was among the largest wine producers in the state, behind only Los Angeles and Sonoma counties. The local wine industry enjoyed great success until just after the turn of the century when fortune-seekers moved elsewhere and its population diminished. With Prohibition, winemaking and grape growing was totally abandoned. But some of these vines still exist today and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
El Dorado has a diverse terrain with elevations ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 feet, creating countless mesoclimates for its vineyards. This diversity allows success with a wide range of grapes including whites like Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as for reds, Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, Barbera and especially, Zinfandel.
Soils tend to be fine-grained volcanic rock, shale and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nights are cool and the area typically gets ample precipitation in the form or rain or snow in the winter.