2002 Mazzoni Home Ranch

Color: Deep ruby
Nose: Mixed black fruits, exotic spice, vanilla/oak. Gravelly earth, hints of eucalyptus/mint.
Palate: Rich black cherry fruit; plum, boysenberry, sweet american oak. Dense, full-bodied; elegant structural tannins; seamless finish. A complete, balanced wine.

Giuseppe Mazzoni and his fourteen-year-old brother-in-law, Abramo Trusendi, arrived from Italy in 1898 and went straight to work at the Italian Swiss Colony vineyard cooperative in Asti, California. In 1899, the two managed to acquire hillside acreage nearby overlooking Alexander Valley from the west. By 1910 they had built a winery and begun making wine. Except for the Prohibition years, they produced wine there until 1978. The Mazzonis were great believers in the contribution each varietals in a field blend could make to the finished wine. Accordingly, their century-old zinfandel is interplanted with carignane, which adds elegance, and petite sirah, which provides spice and depth. The Mazzoni Home Ranch was purchased in 1988 by Niccolo and Flora Oltranti. They have replanted parts of the hillside to zinfandel, supplementing the old vines’ output.

Rainfall: Less than normal. Most in mid-winter, little in spring, water stress by August.
Bloom: May
Weather: Warm spring, summer, early fall.

Harvest Dates: 5 September – 11 September
Grapes: Average brix 26.9°; average pH in the wine 3.47.
Fermentation: No inoculation. Natural primary and secondary, daily pump-overs. Pressed at eight days.
Aging: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (21% new, 79% two years old)
Time in Barrel: Sixteen months

Average Rating: 87.5

No. of Tasting Notes: 16

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