The Zenith of Zinfandel
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California Zinfandel comes from some of the oldest (more than 130 years) and best vineyards in the Dry Creek THE ZENITH Valley, and a portion of the Zin comes from the outstanding Monte Rosso vineyard in the OF ZINFANDEL Sonoma Valley appellation. Gallo, Signature Series, Dry Creek It’s a variety synonymous with Californian wine, but for years it was Valley, Sonoma County 2017 92 N/A UK www.gallosignatureseries.com overlooked in favour of fashionable Bordeaux styles. Now, thanks to There’s a whiff of freshly baked bread on some of the state’s best winemakers, it’s the star of field blends and the nose leading to boysenberries, raspberries and blackberries on the single-varietal bottlings alike. Jeff Cox shares his top producer picks palate, with hints of brown sugar, sweet smoke and molasses. It’s ripe but not jammy – in other words, it has attraction, not just extraction. Drink 2020-2028 Alcohol 15.9% nyone who likes ‘the blood and sun goes easy on the tannins, but finds backbone of California’, as a European friend in its acid profile and spiciness on the palate. characterised his first taste of One of its glories is its ability to age, as was Zinfandel, should give recognition proven at a recent gathering of friends when RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY Ato the early Italian pioneers who settled the a double magnum of 1987 Joseph Swan coasts of central and northern California. Vineyards’ old-vine Zinfandel had the crowd Carlisle The regions looked like northern Italy. They cheering. ‘I can smell that wine in here,’ yelled had Italy’s Mediterranean climate. And those a cook from the kitchen. ‘I was a software developer,’ says Carlisle’s Italian farmers brought with them more than It was an obscure and ancient Croatian Mike Officer. ‘This (he gestures at the 2,000 years of grape-growing and winemaking variety called Crljenak Kaštelanski that buildings, silvery steel tanks and rolling hills experience. They didn’t have degrees in emigrated to America in the early 19th with their marching rows of vines) is my viticulture or oenology. They farmed by the century and became California’s signature second career.’ Recently, he and his wife seat of their pants. But they were savvy as hell. variety, Zinfandel. Unlike the first waves of Kendall made 1,000 cases of Papera Ranch The pioneers are long gone, though you can human immigrants to the United States, who Zinfandel 2017, but it wasn’t easy. still taste that savvy in wines from their have now all passed on, some of those first- ‘We had severe heat on 1 and 2 September vineyards, many planted between 100-140 generation vines are still with us, providing [about 45°C] and we lost a lot of fruit because years ago. These vineyards are mostly glorious drinking. many of the pedicels that connect the grape Zinfandel, a variety that came to California berries to the clusters shrank and died, just a few years before the Italian settlers, DRY CREEK VALLEY cutting off the fruit’s water supply.’ They had and which the Italians favoured almost to haul sorting tables to the vineyards, then immediately upon their arrival. E&J Gallo sort again in the winery to separate the They planted a few other varieties along unripe, high-acid raisins from the good fruit. with the Zin: Carignan, Petite Sirah, Alicante If any winemaking company knows a lot about It was worth it. ‘The 2017 is very high Bouschet, Grenache, Mataro (their name for Zinfandel, it’s the world’s largest, E&J Gallo. quality,’ he says. The vineyard is about 96% Mourvèdre) and even a few vines of white Founded in 1933, Julio Gallo made the wine Zinfandel and 4% Carignan, and was planted Chasselas, among others, to give diversity. and his brother Ernest sold it. They labelled in 1934 by Italian immigrant Celestino Papera These field blends were yielding wine grapes the good stuff ‘Hearty Burgundy’, but it was a few kilometres west of Santa Rosa. when Monet and Van Gogh were painting less hearty than yummy and had absolutely The Papera vineyard may be 86 years old, their masterpieces. nothing to do with Burgundy. but Officer says he’s ‘never seen another old- The head-trained vines in those vineyards Times have changed. Gallo has become the vine vineyard as healthy and in such good are ancient, thick and gnarled now. They don’t 800-pound gorilla of the wine world. The shape’. He should know: he’s the president of yield much fruit, but they clutch the earth in a company has many wineries, labels and price the aforementioned Historic Vineyard Society. strong embrace and impart its essence, and points, and makes some very sophisticated, the richness of their age, to their grapes. high-quality wines. One of the latter is Gallo’s Carlisle, Papera Ranch, Russian River Dismissed for years as not worth much – Signature Series Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, Valley, Sonoma County 2017 92 even torn out to be replaced by the new and the winemaker’s signature on the label is N/A UK www.carlislewinery.com darlings of Bordeaux varieties, Chardonnay that of Gina Gallo, Julio’s granddaughter. She’s The flavour of red raspberries and blood and Pinot Noir – the true nobility of these dedicated to good wine, as is her husband, oranges is Papera’s signature note. Also, ancient vines is now being recognised. Jean-Charles Boisset (see p74). ethereal hints of tobacco, spun sugar, Historic Vineyard Society is a non-profit ‘Julio loved Zinfandel,’ says Gina. It’s a Gina Gallo, redcurrant and macerated cherries. organisation devoted to their preservation penchant among the Italian families who winemaker at Zinfandel with 4% Carignan, this is silky (www.historicvineyardsociety.org). re-established winemaking after Prohibition, E&J Gallo, and graceful on the palate, and the high Newer plantings of Zinfandel can certainly and her Signature Series showcases why. The Dry Creek Valley acidity bodes well for lenghty ageing. produce delicious, worthy wines. The variety fruit – 93% Zinfandel and 7% Petite Sirah – Drink 2020-2028 Alc 15% ➢ 70 | April 2020 • Decanter Decanter • April 2020 | 71 Highway 99 Highway Highway 99W California Zinfandel 101 Nevada OREGON City CALIFORNIA San NEVADA Francisco USA DRY CREEK VALLEY Santa NAPA Sacramento DRY CREEK VALLEY Rosa VALLEY 15 9 16 17 18 Los Angeles ARIZONA SONOMA Napa LODI Nalle Winery VALLEY Vallejo Pacific Seghesio Family Ocean MEXICO N 5 6 14 Lodi Back in the mid-1980s, when many Zinfandel Oakland San Vineyards producers were making big, muscular trophy Francisco CALIFORNIA wines, Doug Nalle and his wife Lee started Highway 99 Californian Zinfandel The Seghesio winery and tasting room in their winery with the intention of making Pacific 1 Nalle Winery Healdsburg, Sonoma County is a veritable SAN JOAQUIN 2 Seghesio Family Vineyards Ocean Santa elegant, lean and complex Zins in the 3 Dry Creek Vineyard temple of Zinfandel, with a dozen different Cruz VALLEY European style of noble red wines. ‘We were 0 50 100 4 E&J Gallo labels of either single-vineyard wines or blends 5 Ridge kilometres following tradition,’ says Doug, ‘using French Salinas 6 Bucklin Old Hill Ranch sourced from vineyards scattered around the 7 Carlisle oak and making wines under 14% alcohol. We 8 DeLoach Vineyards county. The flagship wine is the Cortina ALEXANDER NAPA 9 Klinker Brick Winery wanted the wine to be food-friendly.’ 1 2 VALLEY VALLEY Zinfandel, made from vines planted in 1972 by 11 12 Salinas 10 Turley Wine Cellars They had good fruit to work with. Their 3 4 13 11 Zialena fourth-generation Ted Seghesio and his father Highway DRY CREEK 12 Scherrer Winery property included 0.6ha of old Zin vines 101 Ed. The Cortina soils flank the streambed that VALLEY PASO 13 Kokomo Winery planted in 1927 by Lee’s great-grandparents, ROBLES 14 Bedrock Wine Company gives Dry Creek Valley its name. Above: Ted Seghesio recent plantings to pure Zin because of the SONOMA COAST Fred and Ruby Henderlong. Today that fruit is RUSSIAN RIVER 10 15 Mike & Molly Hendry Winemaker Andy Robinson, who works quality of our fruit,’ Robinson says. ‘There’s a VALLEY 16 Alquimista Cellars augmented with Zinfandel from the Bernier- Santa Rosa San Luis 17 McCay Cellars with vineyard manager Ned Neumiller, calls certain elegance that doesn’t need any other 7 8 Obispo 18 St Amant Winery Sibary vineyard, 8km north. Both sites are dry- SANTA the Cortina 2016 ‘perfection’. By that, he varieties in the blend.’ BARBARA farmed and the vines head-trained, with some Nelson Maggie Map: means it is a precise balance of acid, tamed Petite Sirah and Carignan in the field blends. tannins and bright red fruits that culminate Seghesio Family Vineyards, Cortina Doug, and now his son Andrew and Nalle, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, in a long finish. ‘Zinfandel is best when there Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma daughter-in-law April, the current winemakers Sonoma County 2016 94 are three layers,’ says Robinson, referring to a County 2016 93 and proprietors, achieved this elegant style by £29 (2014) Domaine Direct grape cluster. ‘There are some underripe £39.40-£52.99 (2015) AG Wines, picking the fruit at its initial burst of ripeness. Nalle wines show Zinfandel’s nobility. berries, most are perfectly ripe and a few are Christopher Keiller, GP Brands, The Fine Wine ‘We sort at the picking bins and again when The variety’s natural blackcurrant and overripe.’ This is fairly typical of Zinfandel, Co, The Wine Reserve, Vinvm, Wine Direct we get the fruit into the winery, looking to raspberry fruit exuberance is tamed by especially in Dry Creek, where nights are chilly Sage, earth and dried herbs on the nose; discard any overripe berries,’ says Andrew.