2012 Pedroncelli Zinfandel, Mother Clone, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley 750ml 12-Pack

Our Mother Clone is a classic Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Fragrant aroma of raspberry and red plum with a touch of black pepper and vanilla. Bing cherry and raspberry flavors framed by subtle black pepper spice. Well integrated flavors with round tannins and warm toasty oak are a hallmark of our style. Enjoy now or cellar for three to five years.

Mother Clone Vineyard Sources: Pedroncelli’s historic Zinfandel vineyards are located on the hillsides surrounding the winery, on the ranch originally purchased by John Pedroncelli Sr. in 1927 and planted to Zinfandel since 1904. Our Zinfandel vines are head-pruned and hand-picked, a second generation vineyard cloned from the original “Mother” vines of which one quarter of an acre exist today. Although a small part of the blend, the fruit from these 100-year-old vines is included. Along with the grapes from our estate vineyards, it has been a tradition to include two other old vine and heritage vineyards comprising a portion of the blend.

Winemaking: An ideal growing season with mild temperatures and opportune heat spikes to get the grapes to full maturity. Yields and fruit quality were exceptional. We harvested the grapes over the last week of September. The resulting fruit had exceptional color, flavor, and quality. During fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, the cellar crew performed daily pumpovers—extracting color and flavor from the skins. The wine was aged in American oak barrels for 11 months. A touch of Petite Sirah (6%) adds depth of color and layers of structure, and tannin to our Zinfandel.