2019 Mazzoni Home Ranch

Mixed black/zinfandel jammy fruit aromas, gravel earth, and sweet toasted oak on the nose. Black and red briar fruit upon entry, polished tannins, medium-full body, deep and layered, long, complex mineral finish. EB (1/21)

Abundant winter rain allowed these old, dry-farmed vines to grow more vigorously during a warm summer. Though never abundant, this year’s yield was generous in size. Picked on September 18, the crushed grapes underwent fermentation in three small open-top tanks. This appealing wine, deep in color and flavor, shows promise of developing further over the next ten years. EB (1/21)

Giuseppe Mazzoni and his fourteen-year-old brother-in-law, Abramo Trusendi, arrived from Italy in 1898 and went straight to work at the Italian Swiss Colony vineyard cooperative in Asti, California. In 1899, the two managed to acquire hillside acreage nearby overlooking Alexander Valley from the west. By 1910 they had built a winery and begun making wine. Except for the Prohibition years, the Mazzoni family produced wine there until 1978. They were great believers in the contribution each varietal in a field blend could make to the finished wine. Accordingly, their century-old zinfandel is interplanted with carignane, which adds elegance and lively acidity, and petite sirah, which provides spice and depth. The Mazzoni Home Ranch was purchased in 1988 by Niccolo and Flora Oltranti. They have replanted parts of the abandoned hillside, and in some years we will include a small amount from these younger zinfandel vines.

Rainfall: 57.5 inches (above average)
Bloom: May
Weather: Total rainfall for the season was over 61” at Lytton and 57.5” at Geyserville – almost double our usual amounts. The vines responded with bountiful yields of great quality.

Harvest Dates: 18 September
Grapes: Average Brix 23.5
TA: 5.21 g/L
pH: 3.51
Fermentation: Natural primary and secondary; 100% floating cap fermentation; pressed at seven days
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (26% new, 20% three years old, 21% four years old, 33% five years old).
Aging: Eighteen months in barrel

All Mazzoni Home Ranch hand-harvested grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally-occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35ppm at crush, 78ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Wine Enthusiast: 95 Points + Cellar Selection “This deep and brooding wine blended from Zinfandel, Carignan and a pinch of Petite Sirah shows haunting aromas of roasted chestnuts and black olives, while rich blackberry and black-pepper notes dominate the flavors. A thick blanket of very fine tannins gives it a great, tempting mouthfeel and sets it up well for further aging. Best from 2026.” -Jim Gordon (January 2022)

Average Rating: 91.1

No. of Tasting Notes: 25

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