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Wine Details
Price:
$27.00 per bottle
Description:
Benito Dusi’s eighty-year-old vineyard is planted entirely to zinfandel, rare for a vineyard of that age. His vineyard is located on the west side of Estrella River in the cool and windy Templeton Gap corridor. The heavy, gnarled, and head-pruned vines are visible from Highway 101, but don’t expect to see a sign.
Benito figures, if the vineyard’s been there for eighty years, who needs a sign?
The fruit was a select pick with full flavor development and toasty seeds. It was fermented in small open tops with a Rhône isolate yeast specifically chosen to emphasize the wine’s deep fruit and smoke characteristics. Its smooth, gentle tannins and natural complexity are augmented by sixteen months in French oak.
Aromas of white pepper and cherry lead into a satisfying core of raspberry, blackberry, nutmeg and chocolate in this vintage from Benito Dusi’s eighty-year-old vines.
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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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