Wine & Spirits - June 2018 - 50

YEAR'S BEST US ZINFANDELS
Our blind panels tasted 151 new-release US zinfandel wines over the past 12 months. Joshua Greene, our critic for California, rated 33
as exceptional (90+) and 13 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

511630

94 | Ravenswood

$39

2015 Russian River Valley Belloni Zinfandel ^ Ricardo and Natalia Belloni grew up in
Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, moved to
California and eventually purchased a vineyard on Wood Road outside Santa Rosa in
1971. It's a flat site on clay-loam soil, and the
vines-mostly zinfandel, with petite sirah,
carignane and alicante bouchet-were originally planted around 1900. It was the age of
the vines and the relatively cool Russian River
climate that attracted Joel Peterson to the
vineyard, part of his collection of single-site
zinfandels since 1991. When Belloni hits, as
it did in 2015, it's a wine of restrained power,
its fresh blueberry flavors underscored by
an earthy focus-by forest floor and savory
notes of bluefoot mushrooms. There's warm
generosity pushing against the cool restraint,
the flavors lasting on overdrive. (550 cases)
511629

94 | Ravenswood

$60

2015 Sonoma County Old Hill Vineyard
Zinfandel ^ William McPherson Hill, an early
proponent of non-mission grapes in Sonoma
County, founded his ranch in 1851. This vineyard, a parcel he and his descendents held
onto until 1940, was overrun by poison oak
and blackberries when Otto Teller purchased
the property in 1981. Teller cleared the brush
to reveal vines that were nearly 100 years old,
sustained on St. George rootstock. Rather
than rip them out, he found an interested
buyer for the fruit in Joel Peterson, who has
made a single-vineyard wine from Old Hill
since 1983. Will Bucklin, the current owner,
conducted a census of those ancient vines
and identified at least 14 varieties-mostly
zinfandel, along with grenache, petite sirah,
carignane and alicante bouschet. He continues to sell grapes to Peterson, who produced
an elegant 2015 from the mix. It's bright and
juicy, lasting on cherry freshness, with earthy
tannins adding spice to the succulent fruit.
This is a delicious California classic, remarkably easy to drink. (900 cases)
508240

93 | Clif Family Winery

$45

2015 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Gary's
Improv Zinfandel ^ The Beatty Ranch in Angwin sustains century-old zinfandel vines,
50

WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2018

looking west over the Napa Valley at elevations above 1,800 feet. Laura Barrett caught
this fruit at the peak of ripeness, though
the wine still demands hours in a decanter
to open past the initial blast of alcohol. It
turns racy, with fresh, wild red-berry flavors,
black-olive notes and mineral-inflected tannins. Forget it in the cellar for ten years, or
leave it in a decanter for 12 hours before you
pour it with grilled Provençal lamb. (W&S
12/17; 370 cases)
511568

93 | Green & Red

$30

2015 Napa Valley Chiles Mill Vineyard
Zinfandel (Best Buy) ^ While Jay Heminway's two other estate vineyards face northeast, rising up the ridge in the Chiles Valley,
Chiles Mill faces northwest. When Heminway replanted the vineyard in the mid-1990s,
he selected the material from the Trentadue
Ranch in Geyserville; aside from zinfandel,
the cuttings included a bit of petite sirah,
syrah, carignan and grenache, along with
some Italian varieties. In 2015, those vines
seem to have benefited from both the cool
morning fog and the warm afternoon sun,
offering a wine that's at once supple and
voluminous while remaining firm and tight.
When you first open the bottle, you might
find balsamic concentration to the flavors
and dried mushroom scents. Give it time in
a decanter and the wine gains in freshness,
a raspberry rasp and boysenberry tartness
reining in its rich middle. Cellar it, or decant
it for grilled quail. (900 cases)
511229

93 | Hobo

$30

2015 Rockpile Branham Rockpile Vineyard Zinfandel (Best Buy) ^ Bristling with
energy, this wine gains its edge from a cofermentation of fruit from old zinfandel vines
and a little petite sirah harvested at the same
time, which puts it on the early side of ripeness. Kenny Likitprakong fermented it with
30 percent whole clusters and without added
yeasts, then aged it in French oak puncheons.
That oak mellowed the wine toward supple
fruitiness, with umami notes of forest mushrooms and tart cherries, but the emphasis
is on rocks, sage brush and high-elevation
chaparral. (226 cases)

509268

93 | Joseph Jewell

$42

2015 Dry Creek Valley Grist Vineyard Zinfandel ^ From a vineyard at the top of Bradford Mountain, this zin was planted in 1974
on red volcanic soils. The wine's bright color
predicts its raciness, with equally bright notes
of tarragon against sleek, dark-toned grapeskin tannins. Powerful, savory blackberry flavors last, resonant with spice. (W&S 2/18)

511350

93 | Kunde

$60

2015 Sonoma Valley Reserve Century
Vines Zinfandel ^ Planted in 1882, the Shaw
Vineyard is a mix of ancient, dry-farmed
vines with any replacements grafted to selections from the original budwood. There were
four passes through the old vines in 2015,
the fruit from each kept separate through a
cold soak, fermentation and aging in both
French and American oak. Winemaker Zach
Long blended the lots together into a vibrant
zin, deep red in color and flavor, the wine's
beautiful ripeness offering cool, savory, floral spice tightening around a sweet fatness
of cherry flavor. It remains firm and zesty
for days after it's been opened, predicting
decades of development ahead. (1,740 cases)
511633

http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com https://www.josephjewell.com https://shop.kunde.com/Wine-Shop/Shop-All-Wines

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2018