2004 Nervo Zinfandel

Mild spring weather got the 2004 growing season off to an early start. On the Nervo Ranch, this meant complete ripeness by late August, well ahead of schedule. The oldest vines, planted in the 1880s, provided more than three-quarters of the fruit; younger vines contributed the rest. Old-vine grapes can extract tannin all too easily, so we limited circulation over the skins and pressed, on average, at eight days. We included all the rich press wine, and racked to air-dried american oak barrels–two thirds new and two years old, one third four years old. A firm structure carries the dark fruit. Though this big, complex zinfandel is enjoyable now, in its youth, it will soften and develop further over the next five years.

Frank and Marie Nervo left Italy’s Veneto for the United States in the early 1890s. Like many such Italian pioneers to northern California, they settled at the Italian Swiss Colony in Asti. In 1896, they were able to purchase two hundred and fifty acres south of Geyserville; it included ten acres of hillside vineyard. They planted more vines and, in 1908, built a square, two-story stone winery, which they named Venezia, after their home region.

Average Rating: 89.2

No. of Tasting Notes: 39

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