2015 Boatman Jake’s Block Zinfandel

Juicy ripe black currant and exotic spice notes of licorice and nutmeg. Full bodied with well-balanced acidity and soft tannins. Finishes with notes of plum and tobacco. JO (7/18)

This hillside vineyard consists of six parcels, each of which we harvest and ferment separately. In 2015, one of these, Jake’s Block, named after Tim Boatman’s son Jake, stood out for its smooth texture and intense red fruit. We therefore chose to age and bottle it by itself. Enjoyable as a young wine, this zinfandel will be best over the next five years.

This is our second release from the Boatman Ranch located in Sonoma County between our Lytton Springs and Geyserville vineyards. In 1972, Tim Boatman planted fifteen acres of zinfandel on the steep hillsides that surround his house. The rocky, east-facing terraces are ideal for growing intense, concentrated fruit. All of the six vineyard blocks were harvested and fermented separately. After malolactic we selected Jake’s Block, named after Tim Boatman’s son Jake for this wine as it stood out for its smooth texture and intense red fruit.

Rainfall: 33″ (below normal)
Bloom: Mid-May, with veraison by mid-July
Weather: Very wet December, followed by the driest January on record (0.05”). Cool, wet late spring helped with rainfall totals, but reduced our crop across all varieties. Harvest started early (mid-August) and finished quickly.

Harvest Dates: 19 August
Grapes: Average brix 26.0˚
Fermentation: Natural primary and natural secondary (malolactic) fermentations; seven vineyard blocks fermented separately. Pressed at six days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (45% two years old, 55% three and four years old.)
Aging: Twelve months in barrel

Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested Boatman Vineyard grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally-occurring bacteria; 1.5% water addition; 0.75 g/L tartaric acid; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush; 72 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.

Average Rating: 90.2

No. of Tasting Notes: 13

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