Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Zinfandel, 4% Petite Sirah
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep ruby, the 2017 Rockpile Zinfandel Cemetery Vineyard contains 4% Petite Sirah and aged 14 months in French oak. It's shy at first, then gives up desiccated rose petals, black tea leaves, shaved chocolate and streaks of graphite with a youthful core of stone fruits, classy oak accents and savory hints. It's medium to full-bodied and tightly wound in the mouth with dark, minerally fruits, a firm, chalky frame and good freshness, finishing long and chocolate-laced. A very unique expression of Zinfandel that Clay Mauritson says is "a Cabernet-like Zinfandel—it's not focused on fruit." This will need at least another two years in bottle and should be very long lived.
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.
High elevation vineyards—800 to 2,100 feet—on well-drained soils of red and brown clay loam, gravel and large rock outcroppings produce low yields of intense, high-quality fruit. Surrounded by Northern Sonoma County and overlapping Dry Creek Valley in its northwest corner, the Rockpile AVA produces some of California most powerful Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon based wines.