|
The 2007 vintage was one of the best vintages in recent memory, and for the Todd Brothers Vineyard in Geyserville—which is one of our favorite vineyards—it was also a great vintage. The thick, gnarled zinfandel vines of this ranch consistently produce one of most intense, dark, and distinctive wines. This year’s Todd Brothers Zinfandel is balanced, sensuous wine that is both packed with flavors and possessing a lovely texture and mouthfeel.
2007 Todd Brothers Vineyard Zinfandel
Alexander Valley
History
The 2007 vintage was one of the best vintages in recent memory, and for the Todd Brothers Vineyard in Geyserville—which is one of our favorite vineyards—it was also a great vintage. The thick, gnarled zinfandel vines of this ranch consistently produce one of most intense, dark, and distinctive wines. This year’s Todd Brothers Zinfandel is balanced, sensuous wine that is both packed with flavors and possessing a lovely texture and mouthfeel.
Production
As is our tradition, we harvested the Todd Brothers Ranch grapes before any of our other grapes, in early September. The grapes were trucked to the winery in ½ ton picking bins, and then sorted on a conveyor belt on their way to the crusher. We fermented the grapes using our traditional method of native yeast fermentation, using the yeasts on the surface of the grapes to ferment the grape must. This native yeast method maximizes flavor, color, and complexity from the grapes. At dryness, the wine was gently pressed in a membrane press and pumped to traditional 60-gallon French oak barrels.
The wine was aged for 14 months in 5% new French oak—we prefer the flavor of the fruit to not be overpowered by too much oak flavor—so over 95% of the wine was aged in older oak barrels. Although we often add just a bit of Petite Syrah from the vineyard when “topping” the barrels, we decided the wine was perfect as it was when we were having our blending trials. Therefore, no additional lots were blended in, resulting in a wine that was 100% from the Todd Brothers Ranch, and 99% Zinfandel. We feel this wine should easily improve with eight or more years of bottle age.
Production Notes
Varietals: 99% Zinfandel, 1% Petite Syrah
Appellation: Alexander Valley, Sonoma County
Alcohol: 14.8% by vol.
Time in oak: 14 months
Oak: French; 5% new
Production: 470 cases, 750mL
Release date: August 1, 2009
Sugg. retail price: $32.00 bottle, 750mL
Optimum time for consumption: 2009-2015
Tasting Notes
Color : Reddish-black
Aroma: Spicy black current, earthy, mineral, blackberry, chocolate, anise, and roasted coffee
Taste: Quite balanced and mouthfilling, with complex flavors of blackberry and cassis fruit, followed by chocolate, licorice, coffee, and clove spice. Substantial tannins will soften with age. Sweet, intense, complex finish.
|
