Who Bottles a "*****" Vineyard" Zinfandel?

WINE TALK
21

So this is interesting to me but before you can talk about how Zins from the same vineyard differ do you need to have a conversation about how the “house style” of particular producers differ? For instance how does the house style of Carlisle differ from Bedrock in a broader sense because that will play a factor in any conversation about Zins from a particular vineyard like Limerick Lane or Pagani.

Tom

22

Unclear what you’re ********** getting at. Scherrer makes a vineyard designated zinfandel, as so many others do. There are probably hundreds of examples.

23

Well…I think Drew was originally referring to vnyds that has several winemakers making Zins from that vnyd. Not monopole vnyds.
Tom

24

Sounds like a fun tasting room visit

25

I am sorry if I am still not making my mission statement clear.


The best way to convey my initial goal - for those interested - is to click on the “Life’s a Holiday at Limerick Lane” event/TN report in the OP and see how the different “Limerick Lane” Zinfandel bottlings were treated in that thread.

I am asking only how the final product from each winemaker tastes different from others. :slight_smile:



I am not asking for comparisons of each winery’s house style.

The discussions of why one bottling tastes different from someone else’s (“house style”, the physical rows each maker got fruit, etc) is for another thread, a logical follow-up to this request.

26

While I’ve always found Pinot to be the best vehicle for terroir, Zinfandel can be equally, if not MORE sensitive to location. Clearly these are not mutually exclusive concepts. What intrigues me about Pinot is the limits. The finite places where it can thrive. Zinfandel can thrive in a much broader spectrum. But then comes subjectivity. Where do I like it grown? Warm climates? Cooler? Somewhere in between? Candidly, I believe that the Russian River is as equally suited to Zinfandel as it is Pinot Noir. I would argue that the Olivet area (where I used to live, thanks to bilking Holdredge out of his grand cru site) is position A, as well as the aforementioned Limerick Lane estate.

So. My next chapter involves my continued love of Pinot Noir, but also chasing a secret passion, following in the steps of and hopefully catching up to the guys that truly understand the grape. Officer, Berglund, Bilbro. I’m pointing at you.

27

In my ramblings, I suppose I forgot to give a summary that pertains to the original post; however I’m sure you could certainly get my gist. That is to say that I firmly believe that Limerick Lane Vineyard is an outstanding example of site speaking louder than any winemaking. Granted, those of us lucky enough to work with that fruit have been quite deferential to that terroir. I believe that this is a truly grand cru Zinfandel site and it is a great place to start with this discussion. Other zin sites that I fell in love with in the 90’s for the same reason:
Pagani
Barbieri
Saitone
Papera

You know em.

28

Thanks for chiming in Dan!!


Can you please describe, from your experiences, the differences/similarities (fruit elements, alcohol, body, oak assertiveness) between the respective bottlings from wineries who vineyard-designate a “Limerick Lane” Zinfandel?

Where do you feel the AldenAlli “Limerick Lane” Zinfandel falls in there?

29

I will give it a shot Drew. When Gary Farrell was making a Collins Vineyard zin it was much more refined rendition that you had the impression of a zin made by a pinot winemaker. IIRC the wines were labeled as “Table Wines” so the alcohol was under 14%. The LL zins of the same vintage were more rustic and had a wild zinberry and bramble characteristics. I believe the alcohols ranged from 14.5 to 15.

Hope that helps [cheers.gif]

30

Thanks, Sean!!!

That is exactly what I was looking for from the board!! :slight_smile:

31

Here are TN’s for the following wines from Limerick Lane Vineyard:

'15 AldenAlli
'13 Bedrock
'14 Limerick Lane
'13 Matthiasson
'13 Limerick Lane

http://www.zinfandelchronicles.com/?s=limerick+lane


I’m not sure there are broad conclusions that can be made but I do see some similarities (lighter in style, exceptional acidity, raspberry compote). More than the similarities though I would mostly echo what Dan Kosta said above. Limerick Lane is a “grand cru” site and furthermore in the hands of an exceptional winemaker like Mike Officer or Morgan Twain Peterson you are going to end up with a delicious, age worthy Zinfandel.

Tom

32

I received the email offer for the 2016 vintage AldenAlli “Limerick Lane” Zinfandel today.

Has anyone tried one from this producer yet?


From the AldenAlli website:

"2016 ALDENALLI LIMERICK LANE ZINFANDEL, SONOMA COAST

"Limerick Lane is a thirty-acre estate located in the far northeastern corner of the Russian River Valley. Dan has been in love with this vineyard since first tasting the wines in the late 1980s. Since 2015, we have been lucky enough to procure just a couple of tons per year from our friends and Limerick Lane proprietors Jake and Alexis Bilbro. We believe that this is one of the finest Zinfandel vineyards in the world. The 2016 version is exemplary. Medium bodied, but with racy acidity, this Zinfandel is a Pinot Noir lover’s dream. Elegance is a signature of this great vineyard, with bright red raspberry and fresh stone fruit and a clean, bright finish.

"THIS WINE IS…
Layered and inviting with a myriad of nuanced flavors, balanced with a firm structure.

"THIS WINE IS NOT…
“Jammy” or overly ripe

"USEFUL FACTS
Winemaker: Shane Finley
Appellation: Russian River Valley
Vineyards: Limerick Lane
Harvest Date: September 6, 2015
Harvest Brix: 25.5
Barrel Aging: 14 months in 25% new French oak by Boutes and Rousseau coopers
Alcohol: 14.3%
pH: 3.68
TA: 6.5 g/L "

33

Drinking Old Mancini Ranch by Boheme right now.
It does not suck.

34

If Bedrock isn’t making zin from Monte Rosso fruit now, who still is?

35

Here are some notes when I served blind 2011 zins from the Papera Vineyard. Bedrock, Carlisle and W-S.

This really is a highly educational idea for blind tasting — isolate vineyard and vintage, see when different producers picked and how they made the wine.

A real shocker is Arcadian from those SLH vineyards compared to pretty much anyone else. The difference in early picking and winemaking is huge.

36

I think some big commercial producer bought it and is going to be the only one going forward?

37

Isn’t that Gallo?

38

Eaglepoint Ranch: Claudia Springs, Eaglepoint Ranch, Edmeades, Elyse, Hajdu, Hidden Cellars, Pope Valley, Sattui

39

Yep, they own it lock, stock and barrel.

40

not Zinfandel - but I have seen that a few Oregon Pinot producers have a project doing this.

2015 Cellar Crawl 18-bottle Collection

This collection includes 18 distinct single-vineyard Pinot Noir bottlings produced by six wineries. Working in two groups, wineries took on identical allotments of fruit from three of each other’s vineyard sources. Our 2015 Cellar Crawl Collection showcases our members’ six individual winemaking approaches as a lens into the landscape of these six unique sites.

Our partners in this experiment were: Bethel Heights, Cristom, Ken Wright Cellars, Penner-Ash, and Soléna

Wines in the set are:

2015 Savoya Vineyard Pinot Noir from Beaux Frères
2015 Savoya Vineyard Pinot Noir from Bethel Heights
2015 Savoya Vineyard Pinot Noir from Ken Wright Cellars
2015 Gran Moraine Pinot Noir from Beaux Frères
2015 Gran Moraine Pinot Noir from Ken Wright Cellars
2015 Gran Moraine Pinot Noir from Bethel Heights
2015 South East Block Pinot Noir from Beaux Frères
2015 South East Block Pinot Noir from Ken Wright Cellars
2015 South East Block Pinot Noir from Bethel Heights
2015 Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir from Cristom Vineyards
2015 Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir from Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
2015 Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir from Soléna Estate
2015 Lilies Vineyard Pinot Noir from Cristom Vineyards
2015 Lilies Vineyard Pinot Noir from Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
2015 Lilies Vineyard Pinot Noir from Soléna Estate
2015 Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir from Cristom Vineyards
2015 Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir from Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
2015 Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir from Soléna Estate

Continuing the spirit of alliance originated by Oregon’s wine pioneers, colleagues from a half-dozen wineries began an effort 20 years ago to carry on this tradition of sharing experience, knowledge and our abiding passion for Pinot noir. At that time, in an unassuming corner of the Willamette Valley, Cellar Crawl was born.

Of the many experiments conducted throughout the last two decades, this most recent involved trading fruit among our wineries to discover the influences of vineyard land and winemaker’s hand. Can we answer the question: “Which is more important, vineyard site or winemaking?” We are pleased to offer the entire set of these phenomenally rare bottlings; a collection of wine that will be both inspiring and educational.

Whether you open them one at a time for focused, deep contemplation, or host a gathering of wine enthusiasts to enjoy the collection together – we think you’ll find it a fascinating adventure through the varied terrain of Willamette Valley wine country… Cheers!

http://beauxfreres.orderport.net/product-details/0391/2015-Cellar-Crawl-18--bottle-Collection