Scholium Project Zinfandel FTP-Z 2018

fresh tart cherries, cooked black raspberry, fresh cut ivy, black peppercorns and balsamic syrup

Abe’s Zinfandel comes from Tegan Passalacqua’s Kirschenmann Ranch vineyard, located in the Mokelumne River area of Lodi. The vineyard was planted in 1915 and all of the vines are Zinfandel and planted on their own roots. What is remarkable about this central California site is thanks to the proximity of the Sierra Mountains and the river, the vineyard is typically 10 degrees cooler than Napa Valley. This allows for a very slow ripening of the grapes and incredible intensity.

All of the grapes for this wine are destemmed then placed in 600 liter barrels and foot trodded. Abe does not believe in punching down the cap often, so this wine is left to ferment slowing using ambient yeasts for roughly three weeks. The juice is then drained to neutral barrels and aged for two years, then bottled without filtration or sulfur. There were roughly 40 cases of this wine produced and it is a rare Zinfandel that is under 14% alcohol.

Decant this wine for a half hour, or more. On the palate this wine shows superb intensity but is not heavy, with a lovely finish. The whole time I was tasting these wines I wondered what this will taste like with dry rubbed, baby back ribs. I’ll report back soon, drink 2023-2026.