Nose
Delightful aromas of summer-berry conserve.
Palate
A touch of spice and fresh fruit flavors. A Zinfandel that draws its power from sophistication instead of raw alcohol content.
Growing Conditions
100% Certified organic and dry farmed. Soil types are primarily the gravelly loams of the Cortina and Bale soil series, with the Petite Sirah mainly planted in pockets of soil with high gravel content along the Napa river.
59% White Barn vineyard, St. Helena - Zinfandel
19% Molinari vineyard, St. Helena – Zinfandel and Petite Sirah
8% Galleron vineyard, Rutherford – Petite Sirah
14% Small lots from multiple vineyards, including Gonzalez, Ricetti, Rossi, Pesch, Leeds & Pesch and Testa – Zinfandel and Petite Sirah
Bottling
November 16 2020
Winemaking
Beautiful Zinfandel fruit from our St. Helena vineyards, co-fermented with Petite Sirah grown in Rutherford helps us push the boundaries of what it means to be serious Zinfandel. Delicious, exuberant fruity aromas belie a sophistication to the wine that helps define its promise for extended aging. Our Zinfandel is extensively aged in small concrete vessels, which simultaneously preserves freshness in the fruit, while also giving a remarkable depth to the body of the wine—as I call it, density without heaviness, maintaining the wine’s perfect balance.
You will be tempted to drink this wine while it is in its youthful, delicious phase —and this is a temptation that you should give in to. However, as we have been asserting for four decades, our Zinfandels are crafted for the cellar, and have the natural acidity and moderate alcohols that will provide great reward for those with the patience to hold on to a few bottles. With the 2019 vintage yielding an especially powerful wine, we hope you take our advice! JW
2019 saw the continued development of our somewhat unusual approach to co- fermentation. The Molinari vineyard was the first to be picked; each of its blocks were kept separate and co-fermented with a portion of the vineyard’s Petite Sirah. Next, the majority of the Petite Sirah from the Rutherford ranches was harvested all at once and held on cold soak for a week, waiting for the Zinfandel to be harvested. Once the Zinfandel was in tank and had begun to ferment vigorously on its native yeast, the cold Petite Sirah must was added as a part of a pumpover; this addition has the effect of lowering the temperature of the must, dropping the potential alcohol, and providing a significant boost to the phenolic profile of the wine. Most lots were pressed off prior to full dryness to prevent over-extraction, and the wine swiftly finished a natural malolactic fermentation. RW
Aging
Approximately 50% of the wine was aged for 12 months in small concrete vessels, with the remainder in a combination of French and American oak— approximately 10% new oak overall.
