Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Brisk and zesty, this zinfandel grows into its cool tones on a steep, northeast-facing hillside above Calistoga, looking out over the Palisades. The iron-rich red earth of that hill is ideal for zin. It’s a marriage of soil and vine that Jerry Seps has sustained through organic farming since he and his wife, Sigrid, purchased the ghost winery and replanted the site in the late 1970s. Seps and his daughter, Colleen, make their wine in the 19th-century caves on the property, naturally humidified by a spring, which might contribute to this wine’s overall sense of coolness. This offers a message of autumn in its layered scents of leaves, dried cranberries, pine and forest mushrooms. All of that savor contrasts the freshness of its red fruit, set to carry the wine as it develops in the cellar.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2015 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Mayacamas Range Zinfandel is an excellent example of a Napa Valley red wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is firm and generous. Its aromas and flavors of ripe berries stay focused and beautiful through the wine's finish. Pair it with slow-smoked baby back ribs. (Tasted: August 19, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.