nfurlong wrote:29 posts and not a single review, tasting note or recommondation for any of the wines offered. The silence is speaking volumes to me.
Hi Nfurlong, My name is Agostino, I am the winemaker at Gamba. Here is some info I wrote about this current Gamba offering. We are almost sold out of this wine and very pleased to have participated in this special celebration of Zin on Woot. If you want to learn more about us, please visit gambawinery.com
I hope you find the following notes helpful. Thanks, -A.
2010 Gamba Family Ranches Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
2010 Growing season:
The 2010 vintage is the coolest, foggiest summer in the Russian River Valley on record. Given this fact, the year brought its challenges to say the least. The threat of mildew and botrytis were extremely high during most of the season. And, suddenly as we approached harvest, Mother Nature offered up a scorching heat spike.
Careful canopy management however, saved our overall crop from the unusual weather. We were extremely vigilant in the vineyard, watching over our blocks and working continually to insure the best fruit possible from the vintage. Early in the season, we thinned the canopy, and our crop load was diminished by dropping fruit to encourage ripening and air circulation. By late August, when the heat came down, some varieties were decimated by sun burn on the valley floor. Luckily, our efforts allowed enough of the vine canopy to remain and shade the fruit so that we had virtually no heat damage during the devastating heat spike. Thankfully, the weather was ideal for the remainder of the season for ripening the grapes. The silver lining to the season was due to our diligence in the vineyard, and extreme thinning of the fruit. This action focused the vine’s energy on what little fruit remained, yielding fruit with incredible intensity and depth of flavor. The ideal ripening conditions during the end of season months allowed fantastic flavor development without excessive sugars, giving us full flavored wines with balanced alcohol levels. The drawn-out and dry harvest period provided plenty of time for extended maceration, fully extracting color and flavors from the skins. The resulting wines although very limited in quantity, are high in quality, and produced flavors that are rich, complex and gripping, yet well balanced.
Winemaking:
The whole berries undergo a cool, extended maceration, prior to fermentation with indigenous yeast, to generate skin contact and extract fruit character. The must is then carefully transferred into small oak barrels. It is then allowed to age and mature in new American oak for twelve to sixteen months before bottling. During the entire winemaking process, the grapes, juice, and wine are minimally handled. The finished wine is our attempt at bringing to your table the true expression of the vintage, site and the unique flavor character of each vineyard.
Tasting Notes:
Sourced from several sites in the heart of the Russian River Valley, the grapes are vinified in our traditional style; vineyard lots were fermented separately to highlight the distinctive characteristics and unique flavor profiles of this world famous growing region. Dark ruby-garnet in color, this classic Russian River Zinfandel shows aromas of boysenberry, raspberry, spice, and pepper. Deep and full-bodied, the Family Ranches Zinfandel is balanced with excellent acidity: a powerful, rich and concentrated wine, with flavors of stone fruits, black plum, and nectarine that build through the lingering finish. This lovely wine can certainly be enjoyed now, and will continue to develop with bottle age over the next several years.
Salute!
