2017 Mancini Ranch

Exotic nose of fresh stone fruit, forest floor, and horehound candy. Juicy black cherry on the palate with ripe strawberry and raspberry notes. Medium bodied with vibrant acidity that carries through a nice, long finish. MB (5/23)

This wine comes from a pre-prohibition vineyard planted to a classic field blend in the Russian River Valley. As such, it contains zinfandel, carignane and a host of other complementary varieties, which in the cool Russian River region, produces grapes that ripen at modest sugar levels with exceptional acidity and focused fruit. Enjoyable in its youth, this elegant wine will age for seven-to-eight years. JO (1/19)

Luca Mancini planted this 15-acre vineyard between 1922 and 1924. It is located west of Santa Rosa at the corner of Olivet and Piner Roads. While it consists mostly of zinfandel vines, there is also a significant portion of carignane where we source our fruit. The cool summers of the Russian River Valley add to the distinctive acidity associated with carignane. Fruit, nut, and oak trees are interspersed in the the vineyard, making it a very special vineyard.

Rainfall: Over 60 inches (above average)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: A very wet winter ended the drought, and the vines responded with a healthy crop. The carignane vines weathered the late season heat spikes with aplomb, unlike the zinfandel on the ranch.

Harvest Date: 18 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.2˚
TA: 6.93 g/L
pH: 3.38
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap twice daily. Pressed at seven days.
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: Fourteen months in barrel

Hand-harvested grapes fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring malolactic bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 203ppm 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.