2020 Ponzo Zinfandel

Enticing ripe bramble and clove spice on the nose with notes of pineapple guava. Medium body with refreshing acidity and dusty tannins. Elegant and balanced with juicy raspberry and a clean finish. MB (7/22)

The Ponzo vineyard is one of our few zinfandels sourced from the Russian River Valley. The cool microclimate retains firm acidity favoring fruit expression and elegance over structure and tannin. The 2020 is no exception and will be at its best over the next six to seven years.

Bob Ponzo has farmed these vines in the Russian River Valley for over 40 years. The vineyard, planted on deep gravelly loam soils, is four and a half miles south of Lytton Springs. Here, the Russian River Valley’s cooler microclimate ripens the grapes later than at Lytton Springs and Geyserville. Small amounts of petite sirah are interplanted with zinfandel in the oldest block.

Rainfall: 21 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: Rains in March and April helped the vines get through the summer.

Harvest Date: 12 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.9˚
TA: 7.36 g/L
pH: 3.46
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels; 15% new, 10% one year-old, 20% two years-old, and 55% six years-old).
Aging: Thirteen months in barrel

Hand-harvested, Bob Ponzo vineyard 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 (35 ppm at crush, 92 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.

See all food pairing recipes we have created specifically for this wine.