2018 Oltranti Zinfandel

Garnet-ruby color with nose of ripe cherries, raspberries, clove, baked dessert, and sweet toasted oak. Bramble fruit on the palate with smooth-polished tannins, lively acidity, and a long finish. EB (3/20)

Winter was dry, leaving the vines short on water. Cool summer weather slowed vine growth, but a return to warmth in September prompted harvest. The grapes were destemmed and crushed into small tanks. Pump-overs during fermentation easily extracted full color and tannin. Once malolactic finished, the wine was racked to barrel. The spice from oak aging complements the wine’s appealing fruit. Enjoyable now, it will continue to drink well over the next five years.

Niccolo and Flora Oltranti purchased the old Mazzoni Home Ranch in 1987. They set about restoring this historic property, working on the buildings (Nic was an engineer) and tending the surviving nineteenth-century vines. (Ridge has made Mazzoni Home Ranch from these old vines since 1996.) Once the old vines recovered, Nic and son Paul turned to the abandoned hillside vineyards above. Replanted to an old zinfandel field selection, these young vines have begun to produce the quality that seems inherent to this exceptional zinfandel site.

Rainfall: 22 inches (below normal)
Bloom: May
Weather: Winter rains were light this year. Rains in April and May helped the vines get through the summer.

Harvest Dates: 13 – 23 September
Grapes: Average Brix 25.6˚
TA: 6.15 g/L
pH: 3.87
Fermentation: Full Crush, floating cap. 100% natural primary and secondary. Pressed at seven days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (20% one year-old, 15% two years-old, and 65% three years-old).
Aging: Seventeen months in barrel

Oltranti Ranch Vineyard grapes, hand-harvested; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; 0.56 g/L tartaric acid, 2.7% water addition; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 184ppm over the course of aging). Pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 89.3

No. of Tasting Notes: 14

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