2011 Hearts Desire Zinfandel

Medium garnet/ brick red color; dried cherries and cranberries, scented cedar, savory herbs, mint, and damp gravel earthy minerals; Juicy and tart red fruits on entry, elegant medium-body, fine grain tannins, and finishes with lovely wood spices. EB (7/20)

In 1990, Ridge replanted zinfandel cuttings from the historic 1880s-era Heart’s Desire block at Geyserville; in 2003, we produced a limited first bottling from these young vines. They are now mature, and the grapes were again kept separate for this ATP release. The cool growing season delayed harvest by a month. Short fermentation time and limited pump-overs kept tannins in balance; firm acidity remained after the natural malolactic. Thirteen months in american oak has fully integrated the wine. Fresh and elegant, its cherry-like fruit will be most enjoyable over the next five years. EB (12/12)

This is our twenty-second vintage from three nineteenth-century zinfandel selections planted in 1990 on the Whitton Ranch as a comparative trial. “Heart’s Desire” is the name of the hundred-thirty year-old zinfandel vineyard at Geyserville. The vines are characterized by long, full clusters and large berries, moderate tannins and firm acidity.

Rainfall: 40 inches (above average)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: Wet spring and atypically cool summer.

Harvest Date: 2 October
Brix: Average brix 24.3˚
Fermentation: Natural primary and secondary. Full crush, 5% submerged cap, 95% floating cap. Pressed at six days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (13% one year old, 70% two years old and 17% three years old).
Aging: Thirteen months in barrel.

All estate-grown, hand harvested grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush 100ppm over the course of aging); 0.67 g/L calcium carbonate to moderate high natural acidity; oak from barrel aging; pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 88.9

No. of Tasting Notes: 57

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