2004 Rusty Ridge Zinfandel
Vineyards
This proprietary cuvée hails from a series of old vine vineyards located on the eastern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Head-trained and dry-farmed all, these vineyards yield very minimally allowing for intensely-flavored fruit that produce wines of amazing concentration and varietal identity. Each vineyard which comes to the blend, adds something... one brambly fruit, the other backbone and spice, the other depth and concentration. Together these vineyards create a wine that will remind all of us why winemakers engage the four-wheel drive, and then hike through the worst poison oak to uncover these gems that have nearly been forgotten to the outside world.
In the Winery
The grapes were harvested by hand in late October 2004. Yields were well below average, 1.0 - 2.0 tons per acre. Arriving at the winery, we destemmed the grapes and fermented them in small lots in open top fermentors. Over the next three weeks, the grapes were macerated using the traditional punch down method. The whole-berry fermentation combined with the cooler temperatures maintained in small lot fermentation allow us to produce a rich Zinfandel, with all of its abundant fruit intact. Following the wine's initial fermentation, we barreled the wine in a combination of air-dried American (80%) and French (20%) oak. The wine was bottled in early September of 2006.
COLOR: Deep ruby with a purple edge
NOSE: Ripe brambleberries – raspberry, loganberry and boysenberry — with accents of black pepper and vanilla.
MOUTH: Quite full-bodied, with a very supple palate. You'll again encounter the rich brambleberry notes especially boysenberry complemented by soft vanilla owing to long-term aging in small oak cooperage.