Winemaker Notes
The 2007 Teldeschi Zinfandel is richly perfumed with scents of black raspberry, apricot, and aromatic spices. Subtle tobacco flavors mingle with flavors of plum and cherry. Red and dark berries dominate the flavor, where they are joined by the typical Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel characters of vanilla, cherry, and sweet plum-like fruit.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
22% Petite Sirah; 2% Carignane. Nicely ripened blackberry first aromas are comfortably filled out by suggestions of red cherries, sweet oak, a touch of caramel and spicy background notes. Full-bodied on the palate with its suppleness running to a bit of flesh, but balanced quite well, this wine tightens up and finds structure figuring prominently in its latter half. Expect four to six years of growth at a minimum. It is made in the classic, sweet-berry, light spice mold of the Dry Creek Valley and is bound to entertain all but the most power hungry Zin fans
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Wine Enthusiast
Dry and rugged in tannins, this Zin displays a complex array of wild berry, tobacco, cocoa and dusty Asian spice flavors. It’s a little heavy in liqueur-type softness. Calls for barbecue, grilled beef, or even dark chocolate.
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Wine & Spirits
From a 30-acre vineyard, where the oldest vines date to 1913, this is a field blend dominated by zinfandel, with carignane and petite sirah; Joel Peterson has been making wine from Teldeschi since the 1970s. In 2007, the vines produced an intense wine, full and complete rather than hyperripe. The fruit has a portobello mushroom tone, the tannins a gravelly edge. It's built to age, or to decant for a grilled rib-eye.
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.