Sonoma County Old Vines Zinfandel 2016

The grapes in our Sonoma County “Old Vines” Zinfandel come from vineyards in Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. Planted 50 to more than 100 years ago, many of these historic vines are planted on St. George rootstock and are head-pruned and dry-farmed, producing low yields of fruit with highly concentrated, intense flavors and aromas. The grapes are gently de-stemmed and crushed before cold-soaking for three days to extract optimal color and flavor. The fruit is then inoculated with many different yeast strains to build complexity, then fermented in separate lots using a combination of pump overs and delestage to soften tannins. Secondary malolactic fermentation occurs in French oak barrels. The wine ages in barrel for sixteen months before final blending and bottling.