Winemaker Notes
A knockout nose of blackberry and boysenberry mix with notes of anise and bramble. The nose is saturated with all sorts of berry fruits and underlying elements of vanilla and wood spices. The palate is equally as exciting, with flavors of blueberry, blackberry, and cranberry. The hallmark zesty acid profile keeps the palate inbounds and provides a sense of balance and zen.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Tones of orange peel, cranberry and blackberry carry the nose, offering all the brambly elements of the variety. Bold, ripe and cohesive, it retains bright acidity and a nervy feel that lend balance.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Made from one of Sonoma County's most heralded vineyards, the 2018 Williams Selyem Papera Vineyard Zinfandel is an explosive and devilishly delicious wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is boisterous and generous. Its finely honed aromas and flavors of penetrating berries should pair well with a juicy, grilled ribeye. (Tasted: March 3, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Zinfandel Papera Vineyard explodes with potpourri aromas reminiscent of dried citrus, flowers and bark, lingering over a youthfully dense core of tricolored berry fruit. The medium-bodied palate explodes with juicy fruits, plushly framed and offering bright pops of citrus-like flavors on the long, lifted finish.
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Wine Spectator
Brooding and appealingly rustic, this Zin builds complex notes of wild berry, fresh sage and cracked pepper on the way toward medium-bodied tannins. Drink now through 2029.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Here again, much like its companion from the Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard, is an intense, impressively concentrated, fully ripe Zinfandel that is vigorously fruited and wonderfully rich, but it differs in that, for all of its evident extract and depth, it is a bit taut and firmer in structure with plenty of active acidity in play. It is a wine to wait on rather than one to hurriedly gulp down, and we would lobby for no less than two or three years of patience with absolute confidence that it will improve for a good many more.
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.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.