Winemaker Notes
Deep purple color right to the rim. Aromatically, this is dark black fruits like mulberry, boysenberry, blueberry, and black-skinned plums, all very fresh, without a hint of raisin. Cedar and some new oak, fresh tobacco, and vanilla top off the nose, and there’s a seriousness to the complex blending here. Low, restricted yields in our “top of blocks 2 and 3” portion of the vineyard create There’s a not-so-subtle weightiness in the mouth, rich, blackberry pie, allspice, warm green earth and bricks, sweet herbs, and crushed berries. Petite Sirah provides a powerful push to give the wine more lift, intensity, and length.
Blend: 90% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This classic-style Zin is complex, appetizing and well-balanced, from its sage, raspberry and baked earth aromas to lightly tangy but ripe plum, dried cherry and black-pepper flavors. Moderate tannins and good acidity give it great freshness, inviting more and more sips. Best through 2028.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Renwood Reserve Grandpère Zinfandel is a robust red showing excellent balance and style. TASTING NOTES: This wine is generous in its aromas and flavors with notes of black fruit, licorice, and oak. Enjoy its ride on the palate with a thick, juicy, grilled ribeye. (Tasted: May 26, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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 the lower part of the greater Sierra Foothills appellation, Amador is roughly a plateau whose vineyards grow at 1,200 to 2,000 feet in elevation. It is 100 miles east of both San Francisco and Napa Valley. Most of its wineries are in the oak-studded rolling hillsides of Shenandoah Valley or east in Fiddletown, where elevations are slightly higher.
The Sierra Foothills growing area was among the largest wine producers in the state during the gold rush of the late 1800s. 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 was totally abandoned, along with its vineyards. But some of these, especially Zinfandel, still remain and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
Most Amador vines are planted in volcanic soils derived primarily from sandy clay loam and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nighttime temperatures typically drop 30 degrees and the humidity is low, making this an ideal environment for grape growing. Because there is adequate rain throughout the year and even snow in the winter, dry farming is possible.