ZINFANDEL

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 90 POINTS - "The 2018 Zinfandel is composed of 86% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah, 2% Pinot Noir and 1% Sangiovese. Deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers compelling notes of stewed red and black plums, fruitcake and raspberry pie with touches of Chinese five spice and potpourri. Full-bodied, the palate has loads of decadently spicy red and black fruit layers, framed by chewy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing on a lingering peppery note."

Hartford Family Winery began back in 1994 by Don and Jennifer Hartford. Since their inaugural release in 1996, Hartford has continued to produce wines with lots of personality and charisma. The single vineyard wines they produce range from as little as 90 to 800 cases and receive high accolades from the top wine critics. The Old Vine Zinfandel is produced from true old vines planted 80-100 years ago from some of California's oldest Zinfandel vineyards.

A few weeks ago, we e-mailed out the Ridge Pagani Zin. Now we were blown away by the quality of the wine, but the demand from you, our customers, showed that we were not alone in loving the wines from Ridge. So, in keeping the good wines coming, we have just secured an allotment of Ridge's Geyserville Zinfandel-blend, and this wine has scored even higher than the Pagani that sold out a few weeks ago!

Ridge has made the Geyserville as a single-site Zinfandel every year since 1966! The grapes are grown in three adjoining vineyards on a defined stretch of gravelly soil on the western edge of Alexander Valley. The vines on the property range in age from 15 - 125 years, making them some of the oldest vines in California! Carignane and Petite Sirah are interplanted in the vineyard, a method called mixed-blacks, and are fermented along with the Zinfandel for greater harmony. Both primary and secondary fermentations occur naturally (they are not inoculated), and the wine is aged entirely in American oak barrels, which is the historic norm for Zinfandel.

This Geyserville bottling has every bit of pedigree and excitement as the Pagani bottling, yet the Geyserville has earned 96 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, making it one of the highest scoring Zins or Zin-blends of the vintage! Grab it now while you can!

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 96 POINTS - "The 2018 Geyserville is a blend of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet. It's incredibly alluring, offering up layers of warm, tricolored fruits and loads of spicy accents on the nose, with a dusty, mineral-tinged undercurrent that adds to its appeal. In the mouth, it's generously fruited and fantastically juicy, its silt-like tannins providing just enough support, and it finishes very long and layered. 9,900 cases produced."

JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "A wine that always delivers, the 2018 Geyserville from Ridge comes all from a single vineyard in the Alexander Valley and checks in as 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah, and the rest Alicante Bouschet. It has a big, cedary bouquet of red and black plums, sandalwood, potpourri, and Asian spices that develops and fills out nicely with time in the glass. This carries to a more medium-bodied Zinfandel that has wonderful purity of fruit, present yet ripe tannins, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. This structured yet ethereal example of this cuvee ranks with the finest vintages to date. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years."

ANTONIO GALLONI 94+ POINTS - "The 2018 Geyserville is an infant. That much is obvious, especially in this lineup of otherwise more settled 2018s. Ripe Zinfandel flavors drive the overall profile. A blast of wild cherry, leather, tobacco, smoke, licorice, menthol and spice hit the palate first, followed by swaths of tannin and a touch of new oak that suggest the wine still needs time to come together. Readers should be in no rush. I am not sure the 2018 will ever be truly refined, as it is quite burly today. Aeration helps to some degree. The fermentations at Geyserville were slow to start and slow to finish. That longer time of extraction comes through in potent tannins that will likely always mark the wine."

WINE SPECTATOR 93 POINTS -"Robust yet brooding, with multilayered black plum, licorice and Asian five-spice powder flavors that build richness toward big, briary tannins. Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet. Best from 2022 through 2030"

ANTONIO GALLONI 96 POINTS - "The 2018 Lytton Springs is magnificent. Elegant, layered and so complete, the 2018 has a lot to offer, but it needs time to fully come together. Sweet red cherry, red plum, blood orange, spice, mint and rose petal open up in the glass. Bright acids and beams of tannin give the wine its vibrant energy. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2018 for at least a few years. Wow!"

Coming from several key vineyards in the Sierra Foothills and other regions in Northern California, this juicy, jammy Zinfandel is deep purple in color with powerful aromas of wild berries, clove and plum that emerge from the glass. Luscious, juicy layers of black cherry, blackberry and boysenberry integrate with nuances of allspice and burst on the palate. The berry flavors linger for an extended finish.

Cedarman is a proprietary blend of certified organic fruit from some of the highest elevation plantings on Howell Mountain. Primarily Zinfandel, Turley uses a small amount of Petite Syrah as well, resulting in a truly powerful, dense and wild wine, long on flavor. Wild berries, cracked pepper, game, pine forest—the perfect wine for cabin-goers and cabinfever-havers alike. For fans of bold and full flavor, the wine has tons of brambly fruits and signature mountain brawn. A serious steal, the Cedarman is exemplary in 2018. Can decant or lay down, though does not require either.

ANTONIO GALLONI 92-94 POINTS - "The 2018 Zinfandel Judge Bell Vineyard is very pretty, aromatic and nuanced. Crushed red berries, mint, blood orange, rose petal, red raspberry and mint are all nicely laced together in a gracious and pretty mid-weight Zinfandel that has so much to offer."