2009 Old School Zinfandel

Despite gentler weather than last year, rainfall remained below average. The water-stressed vines ripened ahead of the rest, and were picked separately. Our new receiving system, installed just in time for vintage, enabled meticulous sorting and delivery of fruit to the crusher. Natural-yeast fermentation lasted seven days; twice-daily pump-overs extracted color and tannin. Once pressed, the wines quickly finished secondary fermentation. Old School is a selection of the ripest lots from our Geyserville vineyards. This blend includes carignane for firm acidity, and petite sirah for structure. Fifteen months in american oak, with quarterly rackings off sediment, has brought the wine into fine balance. Intense fruit will dominate for five to six years; additional bottle age will contribute additional complexity.

Rainfall: Thirty-five inches (slightly below normal)
Bloom: Mid-May
Weather: Dry winter saved by spring rains and followed by a warm dry summer

Harvest Date: 18 September – 9 October
Grapes: Average Brix 25.7˚
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and fully crushed to small (1-5 ton capacity) fermentors; natural yeast fermentation; pressed at eight days; natural malolactic.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak (9% two years old, 45% three years and 46% four years old)
Aging: 13 months in barrel

All Estate grown grapes, hand harvested. Destemmed and crushed. Fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria. 0.1 grams/liter calcium carbonate for must deacidification during fermentation. Minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 122 ppm 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: 90.2

No. of Tasting Notes: 68

View this wine on CellarTracker