2005 Sonoma County Zinfandel
Sonoma County Selection
 
The Vineyards
This bottle of Zinfandel is a combination of fruit from some of the finest Zinfandel vineyards within the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys . The Dry Creek Valley is arguably the best region in the world for growing Zinfandel. It has a long history with this grape (going as far back as 125 years) and has a climate in which Zinfandel flourishes. The Alexander Valley fruit contributes vibrant flavors with soft tannins that nicely complement the heartier Dry Creek Zinfandel fruit.

The Vintage
The 2005 vintage was one of the coldest and longest vintages since 1999. The extended maturation and cooler temperatures gave us more cranberry and raspberry fruit character and a lovely claret-style in the finished wine. We had to be incredibly patient in 2005, as the grapes didn’t fully ripen until late September and October, which is always nerve-racking due to the danger of early rains while fruit is still on the vines. We harvested the grapes mid-September to early October at an average brix of 25.1.

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Winemaking
The grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks for 8 to 12 days after cold soaking. Some of the lots were fermented with indigenous yeasts, but most were fermented with yeast strains to ensure completion of fermentation. After 2 or 3 rackings, the lower alcohol lots were blended with Petite Sirah and racked into both 1-year-old Hungarian and 2-year-old French oak barrels. We lowered the alcohol of the higher alcohol lots and blended them with Malbec and Syrah to tame the tannins. These lots were aged in new American oak. Prior to bottling in July of 2006, a light egg white fining was done to remove any green notes.
Winemaker's Notes
After your eyes take in the dark ruby color, your nose will delight in the raspberry and cranberry fruit aromas. The flavor offers pure raspberry fruit and nuances of cedar and vanilla oak. This wine is exceedingly elegant, and the lower alcohol level allows the purity of fruit to shine through. It is enjoyable in its youth, yet has enough structure to make it ageworthy. Try it with any red-sauced pizzas, barbecued spare ribs, or Teriyaki shrimp. Click here to download a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan.
 
Mark R. Lyon, Winemaker
Technical Data
Appellation: Sonoma County Composition:

76.5% Zinfandel, 10% Malbec, 8.5% Syrah, 5% Petite Sirah

Cooperage: Aged in Hungarian and American oak barrels Alcohol: 13.5%
TA: 0.55 g/100ml pH: 3.80
Bottling Date: July 2006 Release Date: October 2006

Past Vintages (downloadable pdf files):

2004

Awards and Acclaim:

2005 Vintage

Five Stars from Restaurant Wine : "Delicious Zin, in a full, mederately rich, well balanced style. It is ripely flavored (blackberry, black cherry), smoothly textured, and lon on the finish, with overtones of toast and black pepper"

Gold Medal from Sonoma County Harvest Fair 2006

Gold Medal from Orange County Fair 2007

2004 Vintage

#3 Ranking of Best Zinfandel Values from Consumer Reports

Best 100 Values of the Year from Wine & Spirits Magazine

89 Points and One Puff--Good Value, One of the Best Buys in the Market from Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine : "No producer of late can match the track record of fine red wine values established by Sebastiani, and this very rich, deeply fruited, convincing varietal Zinfandel ranks with the best bargains of all. It offers up effusive themes of neatly oaked, well-ripened berries while being nothing other than supple and smooth, and it offers none of the hotness that seems a normal condition of latter-day Zin. Serve it with tomato-laced stews or barbecued ribs for an affordable treat."

88 Points and One of the Best Values of the Year from Wine & Spirits Magazine: "It spent 14 months in French and Hungarian oak and has soft, round, light, sweet aromas of black raspberry and cherry before creamy-smooth Damson plum jam flavors. The long, medium-broad finish adds spice." "Oak grains primacy for now over the clean flavors of black raspberries. This is ripe, with a lasting warmth to serve with pulled pork."

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