2008 Zinfandel

VARIETAL & VINEYARD:  This Zinfandel comes primarily from our Primitivo-clone vineyard planted next to the winery. We also use a small amount of Zinfandel from our 30 year-old head-pruned benchland block.  We favor the Primitivo-clone because it tends to produce berries that are smaller with thicker skins versus typical Zinfandel selections.  This leads to a richer wine with more tannin, which is usually found in old vine Zin.  We clip the wing bunch off all of our Zinfandel vines to help minimize bunch rot and to concentrate flavors. All of our vineyards are farmed following the natural lunar cycles without the use of herbicides or pesticides.

 VINTAGE/HARVEST:  In 2008, many growers struggled with spring frost post bud-break. The frost reduced the crop and also exacerbated Zinfandel’s tendency to ripen unevenly. A hot-spell in late August had growers scrambling to harvest Zinfandel before shriveling took over. Our Primitivo was protected with its thicker skins and fared better than our benchland Zin.  We were able to harvest fully ripe fruit without letting the sugars get out of control.  We harvested Petite Sirah on October 11, at 23.5-degree sugar. It makes up 18% of this wine and helped balance out this Zinfandel.

 VINIFICATION:  Grapes were de-stemmed and lightly crushed into both open-top and closed-top tanks.  All of the lots receive a 4 to 5 day cold-soak, are pumped over or down twice daily, and pressed immediately upon dryness.  All of our fermentations are carried out using indigenous yeasts.  We routinely stir lees in barrels for added texture.  As always, we blend with Petite Sirah for color and body.  We aged our Zin in French oak barrels, 25% new.

 STYLE/DESCRIPTION:  Our 2008 Zinfandel really shows how strong vineyards can overcome adverse conditions. While this 2008 Zinfandel has a touch more dark fruit and is slightly lower in acid than our 2007, it is remarkably similar. This lush and rich wine has the structure to age, but I would drink it within 2 years to savor the fruit.

Mick