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

WINE TALK
41

I know Seghesio still does.

42

Pagani Ranch, Todd Brothers, and vineyards in Rockpile

43

And have for decades… well since 2002 anyhow. Bedrock is doing a 2018 Monte Rosso.

44

Thank you for sharing this, Sean!!!

The intent of the OP was very much in-line with this sort of thing.

I have planned a million times, for example, to pop all of my “Mancini Vineyard” reds from different producers in hopes of what your post stated: “to discover the influences of vineyard land and winemaker’s hand”.

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I have but three “Mancini” Zins (Bohème, Carlisle, and Reichwage), plus two Carignan-dominant wines (Joseph Swan “Côtes du Rosa” and Reichwage).

Nevertheless, it remains a fun prospect…

45

Tom,

Your comprehensive TN’s and breadth of Zins explored on Zinfandel Chronicles are the kinds of things I was thinking about when I originally posted this thread on the forum.

No, you aren’t the only Berserker who could say, “I have tasted all the Zinfandel wines produced from the ‘******* Vineyard’”, but there aren’t many in that category.


I really appreciate your input!!!

46

**** BUMP ****

47

Bucklin, Once and Future, and Bedrock all make Zinfandel-based wines from Old Hill Ranch. I don’t have my own TNs on these YET but I’m working on it! [cheers.gif]

48

Here was a time I poured W-S, Bedrock and Carlisle 2011 zins from Papera as a blind flight.

The wines were quite different. What block, when you pick, oak, etc. make a big difference.

49

Not sure if this was mentioned before, but both Sky and Bedrock make a killer Zin from Sky Vineyards.

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50

Galloni’s series on California vineyards is a great resource on the history of a specific vineyard and the producers that make wine from it. He has only done a few (Bedrock, Pagani, and Monte Rosso from what I can tell) but my understanding is that it’s an ongoing project. For example here’s a snippet from his article on the Bedrock vineyard, which has a lot more producers than I thought!

Bedrock bottles their own Heritage Wine and also sells fruit to a number of other top producers, including Biale, Carlisle, Fog Monster, Franciscan, Limerick Lane, Once & Future, Mondavi, Pax, Ridge, Simi and Turley, which makes for some pretty fascinating comparisons. (Readers should note that Ridge uses the historical name “Hooker Creek” for their bottling.) Wines from Bedrock are defined by power, breadth and dark tonalities of fruit, all of which seem to come naturally. Regardless of where producers lie on the ripeness spectrum, all Bedrock wines seem to share these attributes. It is a site where the voice of the land consistently speaks louder than a winemaker’s individual style.

51

I drink a lot of zins and did a comparison one year, down in Paso Robles. 3 from the Dusi Vineyards, maybe 2013s in 2015.

Turley, J. Dusi and Cypher (Christian Tietje).

I liked the Cypher best since it had a little more forward fruit, then Dusi’s and last Turley, which probably needed a few more years in the bottle. It was surprising to me how different the wines were made from exactly the same fruit.

I still buy the Turley Dusi every year.

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52

Two years ago when our group was in Lodi tasting zins, our last stop was our favorite - Fields Family.

They are part of the Lodi Native Project and after tasting I bought a few bottles.

I believe each of the six wineries involved in the Project make wine from a single vineyard (of their choosing) but must follow the rules and make it with no additives.

https://www.visitlodi.com/blog/lodi-native-a-showcase-for-lodi-terroir/

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53

Bacigalupi Vineyard, Russian River:

Williams-Selyem
Passalacqua Winery
St. Francis Winery
T-Vine Winery
Bacigalupi Vineyards & Winery
Wonderment Wines

54

Ryan Sherman of Fields makes great wines and is also a really nice and helpful guy. He’s helped me connect with people in Lodi when I’ve needed equipment etc. The Syrah I make I take from the small vineyard he used to take from - Knowles. 50 year old vines in sandy loam and the oldest Syrah planted there, we think.

55

I still want to know which list you have to join the get ***** Vineyard Zinfandel. All I can ever get is %#*€$ Vineyard Zinfandel.

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56

Thanks Mike! [berserker.gif]

I suspected that fellow Berserkers have been trying different producers’ wines made from the same vineyard.

Do you have any general impressions on what flavors/scents/mouthfeel the “Dusi Vineyard” imparts on a wine?


It was serendipitous to discover an older “Dusi” Zin taste-off online:

i-winereviews
“Old Zinfandel Vineyards of Paso Robles: Dusi, Pesenti, and Ueberroth”
August 13, 2012
by don

"…From the Dante Dusi Vineyard, we tasted 100% Zinfandels made by three producers—J Dusi Wines, Cypher, and Turley.

"…Janell Dusi winemaker at J. Dusi Wines, does open top fermentation in small lots and uses just 10% new oak in aging the wine. Her 2009 vintage Zinfandel is a spicy, red-fruited wine that drinks easy and beautifully.

"Christian Tietje, winemaker at Cypher, gives his Dante Dusi-sourced wine a little more oak—18 months in 30% new French, Hungarian, and American oak. His 2010 vintage Zinfandel shows loads of up front red raspberry and cranberry fruit with noticeable vanilla oak on the nose and finish.

“Karl Wicka, winemaker at Turley Wine Cellars, makes Zinfandel from the Dante Dusi vineyard as well as two other highly regarded Paso Robles vineyards—the 45 acre Pesenti Vineyard, planted in 1922, and the Ueberroth Vineyard, planted in 1885, and the oldest vineyard in the Paso Robles appellation. We tasted Turley’s Zinfandels from all three Vineyards. The Turley 2010 Dante Dusi Zinfandel shows superb purity and focus on a palate of red cherry, black raspberry, and toasted oak…”.


· Historic Vineyard Society profile: “Dante Dusi Vineyard”

57

Nobody mentioned Rock Wall.

When Kent Rosenblum sold his brand to Diagio, he still had access to the various vineyards he used. He started Rock Wall Wine Co. with his daughter Shauna. While he was supposed to be the original wine maker, he roped her into helping, since she’d more or less grown up in the business. The first wines were his wines but she gradually took over more of the wine making.

Then in September 2018, during harvest, Kent suddenly died after knee surgery and she became the chief wine maker. Next week her general manager had a heart attack and left. And then the CFO left. So she had a lot suddenly dumped on her.

She killed most of their distribution and decided to focus on selling out of the tasting room on the SF bay and she cut production. Rosenblum Cellars was making something like 500,000 cases annually when they sold, she’s only doing 25,000.

And her wines are absolutely different from the old Rosenblum wines. He used to pick grapes super ripe, do a ten-day cold soak, and then start fermentation. The wines were big, thick, and high-octane.

She has a very different touch and a much more elegant style than Kent did.

For example, tasted side by side, the Harris Kratka Vineyard shows notes of strawberry and bright fresh fruit, while the Jesse’s Vineyard is much more muted without any single dominant flavor, the Zin from Alegria Vineyard is more plummy and the one from Hendry’s is actually a bit spicy. I’m partial to the Kratka. She has others as well, from Monte Rosso Vnyd, Mariah Vinyd, and something like five or six other vineyards.

If you want to try Zin from different vineyards though, same wine maker and same wine making, you most definitely should try Rock Wall. I have no affiliation, but have become a big fan. And my guess is that she does more single vineyard Zins than anyone.

In addition to Zin, she does a Cab Franc from Heringer Vineyard in Clarksburg and another from Holbrook Mitchell Vineyard in Yountville. From memory, the first one is something like 13.5 and the second is over 14. The first has the herbal notes that you expect in CF, the second has more ripe dark cherry fruit.

And she does an interesting Tannat from Yolo County called the Palindrome. We had a bottle last night, matter of fact. You don’t find much Tannat in CA so I had to try it.

She also does Fiano, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Grenache, Syrah, Cab, Petite Sirah, and Albariño, but I don’t know that she does multiple vineyards of those.

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58

I am familiar with the Lodi Native project. While I think it’s an excellent strategy for cultivating public awareness, each winemaker’s contribution is from a different site.


The goal of this thread was to solicit tasting experiences involving different producers who source from the same vineyard.

My hope is for Berserkers to share tasting notes - not to compile a roster of which wineries make vineyard-designated bottlings from a certain site.


Never before have I struggled so much to clearly explain a thread’s intent.

[head-bang.gif]

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59

The problem is it forces people to drink and post to your editorial preferences. Not exactly conducive to Berserker behaviors.

60

I was a big fan of Rosenblum in the 1990s. We used to go to one or two of their quarterly open houses each year. About 32 wines to taste, discounts, food, music and even Zinfandel ice cream. Some tasted like a fruit roll-ups and others were much better.

Harris-Kratka was our favorite and we used to buy futures each year after barrel tasting.

My memory is that Kent had a non-compete after he sold to Diagio so his daughter started Rock Wall with him in the background helping her out.

Rosenblum (now owned by Bronco) still makes some good zins that aren’t fruit bombs (as does Rock Wall).

Last year there was another winemaker I had never heard of with a Harris-Kratka zin promoting it at Costco. He explained that Rosenblum’s contract with the vineyard had expired and he had been able to get some of the grapes.

His version was not even close to Rosenblum’s. Like many under $20 zins, it tasted murky. (For you, Drew.)