Tasting Notes

Jammy blockbuster Zin lovers will warm up quickly to this expressive, ripe wine from Sonoma County. Made from vines that are 35-plus years old, the wine’s richness shows—it’s almost like a Cab with dark cherry, dust, black pepper, and leather. Good acidity brings forward the subtle dried cherries and floral notes underneath, like dried brush. Drink now through 2008.

Winery Story

Sonoma County offers some of the best variety in soils, microclimates, and topography. The trick, however, is to capitalize on what is available in the vineyards in any given year. Crozier-Fletcher’s wine team commits to finding great sources for grapes; they don’t own any vineyards, which allows them to be flexible and able to make the most of current trends in grape growing.

They start their search by looking for small berries. Small berries equal more concentrated flavor, and are the results of vines that have had to struggle either because of water or nutrient deficits or simply because they’re older (older vines, like older humans, have to work harder). Head-pruned old vines are the best, and Crozier-Fletcher found a terrific old-vine, head-pruned Zinfandel vineyard source near Kenwood. From this, they created an extraordinary bottle of wine.