2023 Alegria Zinfandel

Aromas of strawberry, rose petal, and hints of cranberry on the nose. Medium-bodied with juicy acidity. Garnet in color with bramble, fresh tarragon, notes of baking spice, and a slight earthiness on the palate. MB (6/26)

Following a cold, wet winter and late bud break, these old vines set a modest crop. This 19th century field blend includes more than twenty grape varieties. The dominant ones are listed on the front label. Cool weather during harvest required that the fruit stay on the vine until the third week in October to develop distinctive vineyard character. This expressive wine is enjoyable now and will be at its best over the next six years. SR (2/25)

Alegria Vineyards is an historic, diverse, sustainably farmed, 32-acre farm near the confluence of Dry Creek and the Russian River, in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley, near Healdsburg, California. The original vineyard was planted in 1890 by the Brumfield family who came from Virginia and settled at the property in 1852.

Rainfall: 64 inches (above normal)
Bloom: End of June
Weather: Late and prolonged harvest due to consistently cool weather throughout the growing season.

Harvest Dates: 20 – 23 October
Grapes: Average Brix 23.4˚
TA: 8.15 g/L
pH: 3.71
Fermentation: 100% crushed and fermented in stainless steel tank with two pumpovers daily, natural primary and secondary.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (12% new, 88% five-plus years old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested, grapes; whole-cluster pressed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 90 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.