Eastern Exposures Zinfandel

2012 Napa Estate

Winemaker notes:
This special barrel selection is presented to showcase just how elegant, fragrant and balanced Napa hillside Zinfandels can be. The selection criteria emphasizes aroma, middle-palate and finish – berries with hints of flowers, minerals and spice in the aroma; multi-layered and rich flavor on the broad and supple middle palate; and an intense, clean and lingering impression on the finish.

Tasting notes:
Cherry liquor- intense and penetrating – is the dominant note in both the aroma and flavor of this wine. Hints of baking spice, even a touch of nutmeg further grace the nose, while the palate has a silken balance to it, with flavor concentration that is at the same time virtually weightless and lingering.

“… fruity precision rather than blustery ripeness, and it shows the very clean, slightly claret-like lines that we have come to expect from its maker. It is light and yet nicely fruited on the nose but is comfortably filled out in the mouth…. It will provide mannerly drinking in the short term, but as experience has proven, it will age gracefully for years to come.”
Vineyards:

Occupying a mountainside at the head of the Napa Valley, Zinfandels were first planted here in 1883. It is a grape unusually well adapted to the red clay loam soils, eastern exposures and microclimate of our hillside estate. The vines are hand tended, from pruning through picking. The crop is severely regulated, with two green harvests in May and August, to maintain just the right amount of grapes on each vine, averaging 2 to 2.5 tons per acre. No insecticides or herbicides have been used in all these years, and we are now CCOF certified organic growers.

91pts