Winemaker's Notes
This small block of vineyard has been a conundrum, an inspiration, a challenge to explain, a joy to work with and an amazing teacher. As a winemaker, I’ve learned to surrender expectations and embrace the reality and destiny of the material coming from the site. With apparently minor changes in soil, the character of this wine is highly unique, defying the typical description of Zinfandel. It presents more Pinot Noir facets than Zinfandel. It truly is 100% Zinfandel, though, folks.
Red fruits, watermelon, red cherry, rhubarb pie, stone fruits, etc. are served up on the aroma. On the mouth, more savory, toasted grain notes appear on top of the aromatic echoes. By day 2 of an open bottle, the gorgeous stone fruit facet steps toward center stage. While the alcohol level is above 14%, it presents as a much lighter version, which I find fascinating. This site totally transcends the stereotype of Zinfandel in a way that Château Rayas transcends the stereotype of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Despite a couple years’ of rebuilding vine structure, replacing decaying portions of permanent wood, the crop level was lower than anticipated due to cluster size being a bit lighter than they looked while on the vine.
