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Wine Details
Price:
$22.50 per bottle
Description:
Uniquely spicy and lush. While Zinfandel often shows pronounced black pepper notes and angular tannins, this wine is characterized by brown spice, ripe fruit and warm jamminess - calling to mind an unexpectedly warm fall afternoon. With evident yet approachable tannins, the wine will develop further in bottle and will continue to age well through the end of this decade. Due to the warm and temperate growing season, Celestino, Clay and Marco closely monitored the vineyards to ensure that the fruit did not over-ripen. The vineyard was thinned to approximately three tons per acre. Grapes were harvested during four separate passes at an average of 27.0 degrees Brix, fermented in stainless steel tanks, the aged for 15 months in a combination of new French oak barrels (40%) and one- to three-year old French and American oak (60%).
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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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