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Wine Details
Price:
Description:
Our Alexander Valley Zinfandel “Black Label” comes primarily from our vineyard located in the hills of the old town of Asti – and our high elevation vineyard in Cloverdale. The Asti vineyard is north of Healdsburg on a hillside facing south-east planted in gravel, serpentine and loam and hangs on a T-trellis. The fruit is carefully hand sorted before it is de-stemmed and then placed in the fermenter as whole berries. A long cold soak at 50 degrees was followed by a slow fermentation that was allowed to progress with it’s natural yeast at a slow and steady rate and then half way through the fermentation it was inoculated with a strong yeast isolate (L2226) to finish the job. The wine was aged in Hungarian, French and American cooperage at a rate of 30% new oak. This wine exhibits aromas of ripe raspberry, blueberry and spice with well balanced acidity and mouth-coating long finish.
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Varietal Definition
Zinfandel:
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in the 'heel' of Italy. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Its taste depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County. Many Zinfandels come from head pruned ‘Old Vines’. ‘Old Vine’ is generally understood to mean a vine that is more than 50 years old and that produces less than three tons per acre. ‘Head Pruning’ is an old European style of pruning that trains the vine into the shape of a goblet. It requires no wires or other complex trellis systems. Head pruning spreads the fruit uniformly along the vine and allows light penetration.In the USA a semi-sweet Rosé (blush-style) wine called ‘White Zinfandel’ has achieved widespread popularity. In fact, this popularity has so outstripped all other forms that many fans think there is actually a grape called “White Zinfandel” (there isn’t)!
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