Palate
The 2014 Black Sears Vineyard Zinfandel is classically structured, with ample weight, offering a nice balance between flavor, alcohol, pH and tannin — melding the power of mountain Zinfandel fruit with a light winemaking touch in the cellar. A powerful variation on a Howell Mountain, old vine theme, the wine is bursting with warm red stones, wild bramble fruits, and a dash of ground white pepper.
Growing Conditions
As always, Black Sears produced something quite spectacular in 2014. Though it was yet another drought year, 2014 was marked by being somewhat unremarkable, in that everything happened like clockwork – budbreak, flowering, fruit set, shoot growth and veraison – all right on time. The 2014 shows what Zin can do on Howell Mountain; it’s extremely dense, with great power and depth.
Bottling
May 6, 2016
Aging
18 months French oak (40% new); unfiltered & unfined
