Seventy-nine percent Zin partnered with 20 percent Petite Sirah and 1 percent Carignan, aged 14 months in a mix of oak barriques. The tech sheet lists a vine age ranging from 20 to 100 years, but explicates that growers took cuttings from some of the early 20th-century vines, then grafted them onto rootstock and propagated them in hopes of producing a young-vine wine with old vine character.
The results are powerful and concentrated, with pronounced blue fruits dosed with a shot of cinnamon. The oak is present but the fruit handily absorbs the treatment. It’s not merely ripe, though, as its armature of tannins and acidity buttresses the blueberries and black cherry fruits. Still, it’s a Zin that demands substantial fare: roasts, barbecue, braised meats.
14.5% abv | $22 (sample)
