Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Zinfandel is most often expected to be either lusty or brawny-or both, and, with few exceptions, the leading Zins follow that path. Storybook Mountain, with its balanced, firmly structured, but still deep and tasty, very ageworthy wines has always gone in a different direction, and this new addition to their line earns an enthusiastic welcome from us because it hews to the winery style but has somewhat greater depth without sacrificing itself to higher ripeness. It smells and tastes of ripe and tart berries and, notwithstanding the fact that it is, for the most part, fairly smooth on the palate, it ideally wants another half-dozen or so years of quiet cellar time for its youthfully tight finish to relax and fill out.
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Wine & Spirits
Bottled Poetry is a new blend focused on the softer lots of zinfandel from the estate, with a small addition of Bordeaux varieties (its predecessor, Antaeus, was built on the more structured lots). It strikes a balance between full-on richness and tart, zesty red fruit. The structure is weighty and substantial while red-plum notes provide some delicacy, and cardamom spice warms the finish.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.