2016 Buchignani Zinfandel

Aromas of raspberry, licorice and toasty oak. Medium to full bodied palate with cherry fruit, balanced acidity and a note of mint on the finish. JO (12/20)

Early budbreak and warm summer weather advanced ripening of these seventy year-old zinfandel vines. Submerged cap fermentation enhanced extraction of color and tannin. After malolactic, we combined the zinfandel lots and included carignane from an adjoining parcel to balance acidity. Twelve months in oak lends just the right amount of toast and spice. This full-bodied zinfandel will continue to develop beautifully over the next five to six years. JO (8/17)

This wine comes from a small planting of old-vine zinfandel on the Buchignani Ranch on Dutcher Creek Road in the hills north of Dry Creek Valley (carignane planted on the rest of the ranch provides a separate ATP selection). The zinfandel block, approximately five acres in size, was planted in the 1940s and ’50s on a rocky knoll overlooking the family home where Stan Buchignani, grandson of the ranch’s founder, Domenico Cerruti, lives today.

Rainfall: 38 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Mid May
Weather: A wet December and January helped ease the drought which emphatically ended in March. Cool weather in April reduced our crop a bit. Harvest started early September and finished mid-month.

Harvest Dates: 5 – 10 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.6˚
TA: 6.17 g/L
pH: 3.70
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, fermented on the naturally occurring yeast, twice daily pump-overs. Pressed at eleven days. Full malolactic without inoculation.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (15% new, 15% one year-old, 20% two years-old, 25% three years-old, and 25% four years-old).
Aging: Twelve months in barrel

Hand-harvested, sustainably grown grapes; indigenous yeast, naturally occurring malolactic bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 55 ppm during aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 90.3

No. of Tasting Notes: 43

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