2017 Zinfandel, Cemetery Vineyard
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Medium to full bodied but easy to get along with
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Notes of black pepper
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Smooth tannins and satiny finish
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Classic Zinfandel characteristics but not done
The flavors in this wine are all about red fruit and spice. The body is mid-way between light and full, Complicated and changing aromas and flavors emerge as you sip this wine. All in all, we believe this is a great example of Lodi Zinfandel from a first-class vineyard.
The Cemetery Vineyard is named such solely because it is north of a well-known Lodi landmark. For arcane reasons of geography and micro-climate characteristics this vineyard is almost always one of the first Zinfandel fields to come to ripeness. The vines were established in the mid-80s, according to Aaron Shinn, vineyard owner/grape-growing crazy man. As is all m2 fruit, the grapes were hand-harvested and delivered in half-ton bins. Aaron’s crew are masters at their work and Aaron always delivers nearly perfectly sorted fruit. There wasn’t much sorting of leaves and sticks left to do when crushing these grapes, but we sorted again anyway. Fermentation was straight-forward, and cellar aging was a breeze.
GROWER: AARON SHINN
VINEYARD: CEMETERY VINEYARD
APPELLATION: MOKELUMNE RIVER – LODI
LOCATION: EAST OF HWY 99 ON BECKMAN ROAD, ONE-HALF MILE NORTH OF LODI CEMETERY
WINEMAKER: LAYNE MONTGOMERY
ALC: 15%
pH: 3.6
TA: 6.1 g/L
RS: 1.4 g/L
HARVEST DATE: AUGUST 23, 2017
LENGTH OF FERMENTATION: 11 DAYS.
YEAST: BM45
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: VP-41 ONE-STEP
OAK: 15% NEW, 30% ONCE-USED AMERICAN OAK, REMAINDER 3x USED OAK
COMPOSITION: 95.5% ZINFANDEL, 3.5% TEMPRANILLO, 1% CABERNET SAUVIGNON
BOTTLING DATE: JANUARY 24, 2019
RETAIL:
RELEASE:
QTY: 379 CASES PRODUCED
