ZINFANDEL

It is hard to nail down the true nature of Zinfandel. It is a futile exercise to even try. The two vineyard sources I use give such different wines that you would be hard pressed to say they were planted to the same variety. I have tried to avoid the over-ripe stewed prune flavors and flabby texture that have become so common in ‘cult’ Zins. I also have no interest in the sweet taste of new oak piled on top of the abundant fruit this variety is known for. I find that approach akin to thinking ‘If the music is to loud, I’ll turn on some bright lights to balance it out’. It does not strike me as the way to achieve elegance and harmony.

My single vineyard bottlings from the 2003 vintage are:

‘Laguna Ridge’ Russian River Valley
I do not hesitate to call this ‘classic’ Russian River Zinfandel. The fact that these vines date back to 1862 and are the oldest known in the county, gives them a right to that term. More importantly the defining cherry and raspberry aromatics and racy texture tell you that this wine could come from nowhere else. The only unfortunate thing about this vineyard is its size. Most mid-town Manhattan apartments are bigger than this whole block. At the age of 140+ years I can forgive the modest yields that I can coax out of these old vines, but I am still disappointed to have only produced one barrel in 2003. There will be only 24 cases of this remarkable Zinfandel to go around. Sadly I will have to limit quantities.

‘Beasley Vineyard’ Dry Creek Valley
Carol and Virgil Beasley farm a several acre vineyard on their favorably situated property over Dry Creek Valley. The bud wood was selected from a neighbor’s pre-prohibition vineyard and planted using the best of current viticultural thinking. Whereas the Laguna Ridge vineyard is defacto organic, the Beasley’s have been proactive in their farming and maintain organic certification. The wine shows all that I expect from this region. Brambly spice and plumy fruit, a very ripe tannic structure and quite a bit of body are present. I find this style to be fairly precocious and early maturing. While it may last five or more years, I feel it will give it’s most pleasure two to three years after the vintage.