Winemaker Notes
Blend: 56% Old Vine Zinfandel, 44% Petite Sirah
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 56% Zinfandel and 44% Petite Sirah, the full-bodied 2021 El Coco Red Wine G.B. Crane Vineyard blends notions of red berries with stone fruit, even some citrus blossom and licorice. It's effusive and exotic on the nose, then ripe and supple on the palate, with just enough structure on the finish to suggest it could stand up to a rare steak off the grill and last up to a decade in the cellar.
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James Suckling
Smooth, soft and chocolatey, the wine would be great as a dessert course. A soft, thick, mildly tannic texture wraps around dark chocolate, blueberry syrup and blackberry jam on a very full, rich body.
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.