2020 Zinfandel Reserve
In the glass this opaque purple wine stains the glass with each swirl and has an amazing hue and thick appearance. The wine brings forth concentrated flavors with a vast texture and a lip-smacking finish. Zinfandel is not normally known for its ability to age, but this bottling is very age worthy, I think it will reach its peak in 2028. The wine’s expressive palate starts with mint and other oak-spice bouquets. Following the spice is an explosion of fragrant fresh and vibrant fruit flavors that deliver through to the finish. It is easy to taste chocolate covered strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. This wine can easily be enjoyed on its own, but also pairs amazing with braised short ribs. This wine is tannic, dry and full-bodied and mellows out with age.
In the glass this opaque purple wine stains the glass with each swirl and has an amazing hue and thick appearance. The wine brings forth concentrated flavors with a vast texture and a lip-smacking finish. Zinfandel is not normally known for its ability to age, but this bottling is very age worthy, I think it will reach its peak in 2028. The wine’s expressive palate starts with mint and other oak-spice bouquets. Following the spice is an explosion of fragrant fresh and vibrant fruit flavors that deliver through to the finish. It is easy to taste chocolate covered strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. This wine can easily be enjoyed on its own, but also pairs amazing with braised short ribs. This wine is tannic, dry and full-bodied and mellows out with age.
The grapes were hand-picked with a crew of just 6 people and owner Duane Jardine sorted the fruit as it was coming in. Once crushed, the fermenting wine was monitored day and night so that a slow and steady fermentation could be employed. The wine fermented dry in 14 days, then pressing, settling and finally racking into oak barrels on 10/1/2020. We selected four new T.W Boswell American Oak barrels for the aging of this wine. More specifically these barrels are 240L size, tight grain, profile 107 with heavy toasted heads. Vanilla, black coffee, barbecue, and cedar are just a few of the barrel bouquets gifted from these wonderful barrels. The wine aged for the perfect amount of time to extract barrel flavors, while not allowing for extended oxidation to occur. In total just 210 cases were bottled in December 2021.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Varietal | Zinfandel |
| Varietal Composition | 80% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Vineyard | Jardine Nut Farm & Frankel Family Estate |
| Acid | 0.80 g/100 ml |
| PH | 3.35 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.01 g/100ml |
| Alcohol | 15.10% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 12/14/2021 |
| Cases Produced | 210 |
| Country of Origin | UNITED STATES |
| State of Origin | California |
2020 “Reserve” Zinfandel is an unforgettable wine and it will improve with long-term aging. The wine’s rich and dense texture is combined with a plethora of black berry fruits, pleasing oaky notes and a tart, tannic and enjoyable finish. The grapes are sourced from Duane Jardine’s small 3-acre head trained, dry farmed vineyard, at the corner of Nacimiento and Adelaide road in Paso Robles. The vineyard is situated on a steep slope and is heavily influenced by the marine layer that comes in each evening. The vines are strictly irrigated by each season rain fall, consequently the grapes are intense and concentrated. Summer temperatures can exceed 100 degrees, but cold nights impart great acidity and dark color into each berry. 2020 was an early vintage mainly due to excessive high temperatures throughout the summer months. The vines are only about three feet tall and hang around 10 cluster per vine. The soils are gravely, limestone can be found around the vineyard and a track-layer tractor must be used to farm due to the incredible steep sloped rows.
