2021 Russian River Valley "Mancini Ranch" Zinfandel
85% Zinfandel
15% Mixed Black Varieties (Carignan, Abouriou, Valdiguié, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir, Petite Sirah)
Va-va-va-VOOM! Another homerun from the hundred-year-old vines of Mancini Ranch! And like other old-vine Piner-Olivet vineyards, yields here were quite generous, nearly 2.5 tons to the acre, the highest we’ve seen to date. Picked on September 28th, a bit earlier relative to our other Piner-Olivet old-vine vineyards, the fruit was put to tank fully destemmed. As tank space was at a premium, to ensure it would fit without overflowing (overflowing fermentations are no fun!), we bled off 7% of the juice. After 20 days on the skins, the wine was pressed to all French oak, 16% new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Tasting Note:
Electric medium-dark to dark ruby-purple. Certainly one of the darkest looking Zins we’ve ever produced. Explosive, perfumed aromas of spiced berry compote. There’s raspberry. There’s boysenberry. There’s loganberry. Heck, think of a berry and it’s here! On the palate, oh my! So well balanced with so much fruit but so incredibly fresh thanks to the above average acidity this site offers. Mancini keeps raising the bar! Savor this stunning example of Russian River Valley Zinfandel late 2023 through 2030. (MRO - 01/17/23)