2003 Russian River Valley Zinfandel
100% Russian River Valley Zinfandel, Carlo's Ranch
From Carlo's Ranch planted in 1934, the block from which we source is a bit of an anomaly for old-vine Russian River Valley Zinfandel. Most Russian River Valley Zinfandel vineyards from this era have a fair amount of inter-planted black varieties - Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir, Petite Sirah, Carignane and the like. But in this case, there are only a handful of non-Zin vines (okay, so it's not 100% Zin as stated above, more like 99.5%). As was the case with many other old-vine dry farmed vineyards in this vintage, yields here were less than 1 ton to the acre. Bottled unfiltered.
Tasting Note:
Medium-dark ruby in color. Effusive, hi-toned aromas of raspberries and cocoa powder with a slight note of buttered popcorn. Yum! On the palate, pure raspberry fruit. Full-bodied but with excellent acidity to ensure many years of development in the bottle. Truly speaks of Russian River Valley and its cool climate origin. Peak enjoyment for this wine should be from late 2006 through 2012. (MRO - 8/7/05)