6 - 2007 Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley
2007 Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley
This exciting Zinfandel is very varietal in character. It has aromas of bing cherry, coffee and dark berry fruit. On the palate you discover layers of flavors starting with fresh blackberry and ending with wild strawberry and blueberry. The finish is long and lasting with dark fruit, dark chocolate and baking spices. This well balanced and elegant wine is very approachable in this young age. It can be enjoyed right away or if you are patient enough to wait 5 years it will become a gem.
Zinfandel also known as Zingarello is a clone of the Croatian variety Creljnak. Creljnak migrated to Italy and assumed the name of Primitivo while Zinfandel obtained its present identity in the United States. Wines made from Zinfandel are typical examples of new world wines with fruit forward, high alcohol and stylistically driven by the winemaker rather than driven by terroir as in old world wines.
A part of the Zinfandel grapes used in this wine came from Frank Gunther's Vineyard and the other part from our Estate Vineyard. Gunther's vineyard which is 43 years old is one of the best Zinfandel vineyards in this valley. Our Estate Vineyard was planted in 2002 with a Duprat clone of Zinfandel that is not common in this region. The prominent clone of Zinfandel in the Foothills is the Deaver clone. This wine was made in our "Submerged Cap Fermentation Tank" that is capable of fully extracting the flavor, color and mouthfeel components present in the grapes. The wine was then aged in predominantly French oak barrels for 14 months.
Varietal Content: Zinfandel 80.4%, Primitivo 7.7%, Cabernet Franc 7.7%, Tempranillo 4.2%