The main contrast this year is that one of usual main elements of the blend—Esola Vineyard from Amador County—was picked early for rosé to avoid potential smoke issues from nearby wildfires. As a result, the blend leans more heavily into fruit from Sonoma and Contra Costa counties. Fruit from the great Teldeschi Ranch comprises just over 20% of the blend, followed by Beeson, Sodini, Nervo, Dommen, Pagani, Papera, Evangelho, Pato, Katushas’ and Bedrock—aka, a pretty sweet set of vineyards going into our most entry level bottling. The finished blend is 85% Zinfandel with 7% Carignan, 4% Cinsault and bits and bobs of Grand Noir, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and other field-blended varieties. As usual, the average vine age is around 80 years old, which makes this truly an “old vine” cuvee.

Our goal is always to make a wine that reflects what we love most about Zinfandel in California: to showcase its great fruit but also its spice, energy and freshness. Hailing from a drought year, this wine has an added degree of intensity to it that will make it great for early consumption or a little time sideways in the cellar.

Varietal: Zinfandel, Carignan, and Cinsault

Region: California