2022 Boatman Zinfandel

Nose of blackberry pie, lavender and black tea. Velvety on the palate with notes of black olive, cherry, plum, and milk chocolate with a long, rich finish. SR (12/24)

Boatman Ranch is one of the only vineyards we work with that’s planted to 100% zinfandel. Grown on a terraced hillside full of sizeable rocks, this vineyard is split into seven distinct blocks. Jake’s block was ready first, on August seventeenth, with the Graveyard block completing our pick two days later. By taste, all seven were included for their range of sumptuous fruit and savory notes. This excellent zinfandel will be at its best over the next six years. SR (1/24)

Tim Boatman’s grandparents, Emilia and Eugene Moretti, emigrated from the mountain town of San Pellegrinetto, Italy in the early 1900s. In 1935, Emilia and Eugene were able to acquire this fifty acre ranch that sits in the hills on the border of Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. Eugene used the property for wood cutting and when he passed away he left the property to Tim’s mother and uncle. Tim purchased the property from them in the mid-sixties, when he was only nineteen years old. In 1972, Tim Boatman planted fifteen acres of zinfandel on the steep hillsides that surround his house. The rocky, east-facing terraces are ideal for growing intense, concentrated fruit.

Rainfall: 25 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Early May
Weather: 2022 was the third year of drought. Thankfully, we received Spring rains that helped the vines. These same rains caused shatter in our zinfandel, reducing their crop. Two heat spells pushed the vines to another early harvest.

Harvest Dates: 17 – 19 August
Grapes: Average Brix 25.7˚
TA: 5.55 g/L
pH: 3.84
Fermentation: Natural primary and natural secondary (malolactic) fermentations; seven vineyard blocks fermented separately.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (10% new and 90% five-plus years old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; 1% water adidtion; tartaric acid added; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush; 151 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.