2023 St. Peter’s Church Zinfandel

Elegant, lifted nose of boysenberry, white peach and honeysuckle flower. Medium-light bodied with juicy acidity followed by notes of plum, dark chocolate, blueberry and sage. SR (6/25)

In back of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Cloverdale, 19th century zinfandel vines are bordered by younger zinfandel and petite sirah. At 500’ elevation, the vineyard has alluvial loam and clay soils. This location experiences a large diurnal shift with warm days and cool nights encouraging exuberant fruit expression and appealing acidity. Enjoyable upon release, this distinctive wine will develop fully over the next six years. SR (1/25)

St. Peter’s Church vineyard was originally planted with carignane and other varieties around the perimeter, and zinfandel inside. This had the effect of partially shielding the zinfandel from deer and kept it especially well-preserved.

The vineyard is planted in alluvial-loamy and clay soils at 500 feet in elevation. In the center of the St. Peter’sChurch Vineyard are the remaining original zinfandel vines, planted in the 1880’s.These Zinfandel vines are the oldest planted at a church in the United States.

Over the past 30 years, younger zinfandel vines have been replanted around the older section along with a couple rows of petite sirah and alicante bouchet.

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

Harvest Date: 14 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.2˚
TA: 6.42 g/L
pH: 3.67
Fermentation: 100% crushed and fermented in stainless steel tank with two pump overs daily, natural primary and secondary.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (15% new, 10% one year old, 35% two years old, and 40% three to five years old).
Aging: Fourteen months

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, 88 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.

OwenBargreen.com: 95 Points “The 2023 ‘St. Peter’s Church’ Zinfandel has 5% Petite Sirah blended in. Sourced from this location in Sonoma set on clay and loamy soils, this has terrific tension and brightness once on the mouth. A hedonistic melange of red and dark fruits combine with salty soils, tobacco leaf, kumquat zest and shades of bramble on the palate. Really good now, enjoy over the next ten plus years. Drink 2025-2038.” -Owen Bargreen (June 2025)

Wine Spectator: 93 Points “Precision meets torque in this powerfully built Zin, which offers deep flavors of blackberry, licorice, briar patch and bittersweet chocolate that build tension and richness toward the firm finish. Hands off for now. Best from 2026 through 2035.” -Tim Fish (July 2025)