Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Old Hill Vineyard—one of the oldest in Sonoma County, planted in 1885—was covered in brush when Otto Teller purchased it in 1981. Rather than ripping out the vines, he cleared the weeds and blackberry canes and began selling the fruit to Joel Peterson at Ravenswood, who has bottled an Old Hill Zinfandel for more than 30 years. This is a vintage worth laying down; the old zin vines and other sundry varieties, including grenache, grew a muscular red that carries a suggestion of ferny undergrowth in its cool, minty aroma. The wine tastes of fruit skin rather than oak or alcohol, with a dark-berried intensity that should keep it in good form for ten years or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
This blend of 75% Zinfandel and 25% mixed blacks has a lingering back beat of menthol and mint that interweaves with more tantalizing elements of white pepper and leather saddle. Made in a relatively restrained style, it stays softly layered throughout a long finish.
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.