2012 Ponzo Zinfandel

This is our tenth vintage from Bob Ponzo’s vineyard in the cool Russian River Valley. There, despite a warm summer, the vines ripened slowly and evenly. We harvested the three blocks on October 7 and 18, and fermented them separately. After malolactic, we combined Old Vines and Front blocks, then racked to barrel for twelve months’ aging. Abundant fruit, spice, and floral aspects have integrated to produce a savory wine with soft, round texture. This rich, full zinfandel will be at its best over the next six to seven years. JO (9/13)

Bob Ponzo has farmed these grapes for us in the Russian River Valley since 1999. Bob’s
vineyard, on deep gravely loam soils four and a half miles south of Lytton Springs provides
all the fruit for this zinfandel. The Russian River Valley’s cooler microclimate ripens
the grapes shortly after Lytton Springs and Geyserville. Small amounts of petite sirah are
interplanted with zinfandel in the oldest block.

Rainfall: 24 inches (below average)

Bloom: Mid-May

Weather: Wet spring and a long, mild summer.

Harvest Dates: 7 October and 18 October

Grapes: Average Brix 26.1˚

Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap and pressed at nine days.

Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (20% new, 40% one and two years old, 40% three and four years old)

Aging: Twelve 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; minimum
effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 112 ppm over the course of aging);
oak from barrel aging; pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal
intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 90.6

No. of Tasting Notes: 53

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