2021 Zinfandel Reserve
How amazing is this wine! It's hard to imagine another Zinfandel with this much body, presence, power, and smooth finish...this wine is sure to impress. The two westside dry-farmed Paso Robles Zinfandel vineyards blend together beautifully and are only improved with the small addition of Petite Sirah. The nose is dominated by blackberry, chocolate cherry, blueberry, and caramel apple. The taste is seamless, bringing smoky oaky bouquets that are held together by herbs, pepper, and dusted earth. This wine is tannic, yet slightly sweet on the finish giving it easy-drinking quality. This wine will age wonderfully, reaching its peak in 2028.
The grapes were hand-picked overnight into half-ton macro bins and transported to the winery on my flatbed trailer. Measures were taken to keep the whole berries cold and intact and fresh fruit flavors preserved. All three lots were destemmed, fermented, pressed, and aged in separate lots. These three small lots were fermented in three-quarter-ton macro bins and kept inside the winery for the entire time of primary fermentation. The must was cold soaked for 2 days followed by yeast introduction with 2 weeks of hand punch downs completed by our winemaking staff twice a day. Once and twice used large format barrels were selected for the aging of this wine. The Petite Sirah barrel, a brand-new Cornerstone American Pennsylvania barrel; adds huge amounts of toast, smoke, and chocolate bouquets to the wine. The barreled lots were blended together in May of 2022, aged as one wine from that point forward, and bottled in February 2023.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Varietal | Zinfandel |
| Varietal Composition | 91% Zinfandel, 9% Petite Sirah |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Vineyard | Jardine Nut Farm & Frankel Family Estate |
| Acid | 0.75 g/100 ml |
| PH | 3.45 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.75 g/100ml |
| Alcohol | 15.00% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 02/15/2023 |
| Cases Produced | 320 |
| Country of Origin | UNITED STATES |
| State of Origin | California |
Sculpterra’s Reserve Zinfandel wine blends two outstanding dry-farmed, head-trained westside vineyards, along with a small addition of Petite Sirah from San Miguel. These neighboring Zinfandel vineyards are on the corner of Adelaide Road and Nacimiento Lake Drive in Paso Robles. These soils are primarily sandy light clay and limestone and are limited to a quarter of a ton or up to one ton of fruit per acre (5 tons is typical per acre). The small yields lead to intense dark fruit flavors, tannic skins, and incredibly dark wine. The vines are head-trained and head-pruned with no trellis. These mini bush vines produce leaves that shade and protect the fruit from the blistering summer heat. 2021 saw below-average rainfall making for an even lighter crop than normal and an earlier harvest date of September 19. The Petite Sirah was brought in 2 weeks later.
Paul Frankel’s Background
Winemaking and grape growing is Paul’s passion! From an early age, Paul showed interest and excelled in science, botany, and chemistry. Most of all Paul loved the outdoors and working with his hands. His love for farming shows through in the quality of his wines. He has conducted numerous vineyard and winemaking experiments that have resulted in award-winning wines. Paul has studied the Frankel Ranch property during his lifetime and he is very well versed in soil types and meso climates on the estate. Paul grew up on the property and was mentored by winemakers Shannon O’Neil and Jason Bushong. Paul’s father and Dr. Warren Frankel planted the 125-acre vineyard and built the winery, opening the tasting room in October 2007. Paul graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology. While in college he interned at the Cal Poly Pilot Winery and worked 2 seasons at Maloy O’Neill Winery. In fact, Paul took two fall quarters off to make Sculpterra’s wines. His first vintage as a head winemaker was in 2008 making 19 total tons. During harvest Paul puts in 14-hour days, conducting the pick, crush, and press.
