My wife said: “Why are you releasing two red Zinfandels at the same time? They’re just gonna get Zinfadeled-out. Also, never release on a Sunday - people are busy then”.
I’ve never been accused of being a great businessman, but too late to change now I feel, so here it is the FALL RELEASE 2023 LIVE! On a Sunday. With two red Zinfandels;)
I also want to point out that shipments won’t go out until early November. Most are bottled, but still waiting on a few labels to arrive. As usual, shipment is included on all orders over $200.
Summary of the 6 new wines in this release:
1. 2022 Zinfandel “Valdemar” Cherryhouse Vineyard - a fuller Zinfandel from this old gnarly 60’s vineyard in Lodi, 30% new oak adds a classic California elegance to it. This is one that could benefit from a little aging and should probably be put away for a little bit. 2. 2022 Zinfandel “Anchia” Stampede Vineyard - a light, ethereal Zin from this legendary 1930’s field blend vineyard in Clements Hills. No oak. 3. 2022 Riesling “New Gold Dream” Zabala Vineyard - a robust and fruity dry Riesling from this cold Arroyo Seco vineyard in Monterey County. 4. 2022 White Zinfandel “Mariedam” Stampede Vineyard - yes, she’s back! The wonderful White Zin that sold out almost immediately in previous vintage is now finally back, and better than ever! You might think I’m crazy releasing a rosé in the fall, but it’s a perfect combo for upcoming thanksgiving dishes, in my opinion. 5. 2020 Milk Fed 7 Flame Tokay Chandler Vineyard - you might remember that I did not release a 2020 vintage of my Flame Tokay. I wasn’t happy with it, but kept a single barrel of it that had developed a special protective yeast layer called “Flor”. This protective layer keeps oxygen from wine and lets it develop in a very savory way, common to how dry Sherry Fino wines are made. After 3 years in barrel, this wine has developed a unique and lovely saline beauty that I hope you’ll enjoy, despite just being 11% alcohol. Only one barrel or 300 bottles of this was made. 6. 2020 Late Harvest Mission “Mission del Sol” Somers Vineyard - Another unique wine. This was picked in December of 2020 when most of the grapes were almost raisining and harvest was well over. A natural ferment brought the alcohol up to above 17%, but with no residual sweetness at all. 3 years of aging in neutral barrels has given this wine an incredible depth with tons of layers that keep unfolding, hovering somewhere between a regular wine and a bone-dry port. Bottled in the cute little 500ml Cuban bottles also used for the Angelica. The perfect aperitif wine before a dinner (or even during).
Hope you’ll enjoy this release and thanks again for your continued support!
Well, Stampede is actually a field blend vineyard planted right after prohibition, so it’s predominantly Zinfandel, but has the usual suspects interplanted like Alicante, Mataro, Mission etc. It creates a very perfumed and fruity Zin that seems to lend itself to a lighter touch, so no oak on this one.
Cherryhouse is also an old vineyard, but planted in the 60’s. Head trained. All Zin, so tends to produce a fuller, more voluptuous wine. I still try to keep it on the lighter side, but here 30% new oak goes well with its heftier and softer profile.
Zin in general is very hard to nail down the picking window on because it tends to have uneven ripening clusters, so it will often “soak up” and extra brix or even two at times. So even though you pick where you want it to be, you have to kinda take a best guess at where it will end up, which can be a fools errand many times.
This year I solved this mental anxiety hoop by simply not doing any lab work at all on the Zin. It is what it is.
Popped a “Bund” Riesling today, my first foray into these wines. Really good stuff here. I’m a big Riesling fan, and generally stick to Germany and the Finger Lakes, but this gives me a totally different expression of the grape, and one I’m enjoying. There’s weight here, and an almost creamy texture. Acid is lower than I’m accustomed to, but still very much present and balanced. Lots of unripe pineapple notes that make me want to order some Thai food asap. Excellent.