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Wine Details
Price:
$28.00 per bottle
Description:
“Elegant” is a relative term when applied to Zinfandel, but elegant is indeed an appropriate descriptor for this wine. Brambles & black pepper with rich black fruit, complex with wild rosemary & wafting notes of citrus flowers decadently crushed under linen sheets. A fine opera, & as subtle as Wagner’s The Valkyrie, conducted by Bacchus & performed by Frank Zappa & Tom Waits on a soft mid-summer’s night on the isle of Corfu. The Le Cuvier 2000 Zinfandel is a blend of Zins made from five west side Paso Robles vineyards [35.33% Kiler Creek vineyard, 20.59% Martinelli Vineyard, 20.39% McGourty Vineyard, 16.17% Beckwith Vineyard, & 7.52% Tonesi Vineyard]. Ageability: someday we will know, won’t we? An initial bottling of 200 cases was done in September 2003, which means that approximately 200 additional cases of the 2000 blend is still in barrel & will be permitted to slumber in sweet peace for an undetermined period of further aging (surely a year or two longer) before bottling.
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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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Bacchus:
Named after the Roman god of wine, Bacchus is found in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia, in the United Kingdom, and most widely in its native Germany, where it flourishes in the heart of German bulk wine production and beer country. Two-thirds of its German production is in the Rheinhessen and much of the rest is in the Franconia district, famous for its Bavarian wheat beers. Created by crossing a Müller-Thurgau with a Silvaner-Riesling cross, this white wine-producing varietal adapts to a broad range of climates. Bacchus benefits from its ability to grow in less favorable vineyard sites than Riesling and even Müller-Thurgau. It produces full-bodied wines, with attractive fruit and floral characteristics, similar to Muscat. As an early budder, this varietal is susceptible to spring frosts, and its lack of acidity can prove challenging. In cool years, its inability to ripen fully and to express its Muscat-like character does not allow vignerons to effectively use the grape to moderate the aci
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