Winemaker Notes
Old Hill Vineyard is located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley with probably the oldest vines in Sonoma County. There are at least 30 different grape varieties on the property but the wine is blended with a majority of Zinfandel.
Blend: 75% Zinfandel, 25% Mixed Blacks
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Powerful and deeply structured, with distinctive aromas of smoked pepper, black raspberry and fruitcake spices. The flavors balance ripe tannins and lively acidity, offering notes of blackberry, dark chocolate, licorice and mineral. Best from 2016 through 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a famed old site planted to 75% Zinfandel and 25% mixed black-skinned varieties, this wine conveys a minty-eucalyptus quality that tunes the acidity high against a medium-weight body. Austere at first on the palate, it expands as it goes, offering robust, dry tannins and layers of cardamom and coffee with time and air.
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.