Past Vintages |
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For most of this decade we’ve made Late Harvest Zinfandels from the great Lily Hill vineyard at Bella Winery (where Mike is the consulting winemaker). The shallow, rocky soils on the steep hills of this vineyard make the vines struggle, which in turn help the vines create very concentrated, complex grapes. One of the reasons that we love this vineyard for Late Harvest zinfandel is the wonderful acidity of the grapes. Even when we wait an extra four weeks or so to harvest the grapes (the average time that we need to leave the grapes to have them turn into Late Harvest) the grapes maintain their acidity. The resulting wine is always focused and clear--it’s never cloying, and always finishes with a crisp, clean, sweet note.
This old-vine vineyard consistently produces one of the most sought-after wines that Dashe Cellars makes, and at this point in our history we’ve made Todd Brothers Ranch zinfandels for eleven vintages. These thick, gnarled vines planted on the steep red rock slope in Geyserville (in Alexander Valley, Sonoma county) always produce jet-black, intensely-flavored and very complex grapes.
We can never get enough of these remarkable old vine zinfandel grapes from the property of John Louvau in Dry Creek Valley. These old, gnarled, thick vines grow straight out of the rocky soil of the ancient riverbed on the “bench” of upper Dry Creek Valley, and they produce tiny quantities of jet-black, concentrated grapes.
If we had one word to describe this unusual wine from a vineyard high in the mountains of Mendocino County, it would be "wow". This is a wine that has shown us that it is possible to create complex, balanced, world-class wine from California Zinfandel - and that to be great, Zinfandel doesn’t need to be jet-black in color and high in alcohol. Substantially lower in color that typical Zinfandel, the L’Enfant Terrible is a wine that defies expectations. From start to finish, it is unusual in character: lower in alcohol, unfined and unfiltered, extremely low in SO2, fermented using native yeasts found on the grapes, organically grown. It’s a wine made in a style that we love - totally drinkable, yet with a complexity that grows stronger over time. With patience, it evolves into a thrilling wine.
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.
An unusual wine from one of the most pristine biodynamic farms in Mendocino County—a complete farm that produces vegetables and fruits, and raises cows, lambs, and chickens—this zinfandel is always a show-stopper.
