2022 Ponzo Zinfandel

Ripe raspberry and hints of clove spice on the nose. Medium body with bright acidity and supple tannins. Elegant and balanced with notes of fresh cranberry and a long, juicy finish. MB (7/24)

Budbreak came early to the Russian River Valley. Mild summer weather slowed ripening and allowed the fruit to develop greater depth. We harvested in the first days of September, just before the Labor Day heat wave. The old vines provided structure, color, and sensuous tannin, while the younger vines added fresh fruit and firm acidity. Enjoyable on release, this delicious zinfandel will continue to develop over the next six to seven years. SR (8/23)

Bob Ponzo has farmed these vines in the Russian River Valley for over 40 years. The vineyard, planted on deep gravelly loam soils, is four and a half miles south of Lytton Springs. Here, the Russian River Valley’s cooler microclimate ripens the grapes later than at Lytton Springs and Geyserville. Small amounts of petite sirah are interplanted with zinfandel in the oldest block.

Rainfall: 20 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Mid May
Weather: 2022 was the third year of drought. Thankfully, we received Spring rains that helped the vines. These same rains caused shatter in our zinfandel, reducing their crop. Two heat spells pushed the vines to another early harvest.

Harvest Dates: 3 – 5 September
Grapes: Average Brix 25.1˚
TA: 8.54 g/L
pH: 3.50
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (10% new, 15% one year old, and 75% five-plus years old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel

Hand-harvested, Bob Ponzo vineyard grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 141 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.

See all food pairing recipes we have created specifically for this wine.