Wine & Spirits - February 2017 - 47


YEAR'S BEST ZINFANDEL
beautifully in this 2013. With air, the wine
transforms all of its blueberry flavor, peachy
red fruit and youthful oak into something
finer, opening over the course of several
days toward mouthwatering flavors of freshpicked black raspberries and bright, rustic
mineral notes that seem patterned after
the volcanic rock. (W&S 10/16) § Storybook
Mountain Vineyards, Calistoga, CA
447461

93 | Ravenswood

$37

2014 Alexander Valley Big River Zinfandel ^
From vines dating to 1893 on a bench
of cobbly loam above the Russian River,
this is often the most lush and forward of
Ravenswood's single-vineyard zinfandels.
In 2014, the wine goes far beyond mere
deliciousness-it's a zin with clarity and
stature, its ripe strawberry and peach fuzz
flavors finding purchase in a firm, gravelly
benchland structure. With air, a curtain
opens and the fruit takes on a succulent,
gracious, expansive three-dimensionality,
its nooks and crannies filled with rose-petal
and sage aromas. Open this around 2025,
when the wine's more precocious elements
will have settled into a harmonious maturity.
(2,500 cases) § Ravenswood, Sonoma, CA

446977

92 | Gary Farrell

$50

92 | Green & Red

$28

2014 Dry Creek Valley Grist Vineyard
Zinfandel ^ This is a refreshing Dry Creek
zin from a hillside in the northwest corner of
the appellation, the wine buzzing with sunny
fruit-basket exuberance (raspberry, peach,
plum...) and touching on woodsy spice. It
strikes a fine balance between zin's warming
alcohol and tart acidity, so the flavors hang
on with a brisk persistence. (381 cases) § Gary
Farrell, Healdsburg, CA
447300
2014 Napa Valley Chiles Mill Vineyard
Zinfandel ^ This wine grows at the first site
Jay Heminway planted at his property in
the eastern hills of Napa Valley, the vines
replanted in the mid-90s after the original
vineyard succumbed to phylloxera. The plant
material came from Trentadue Ranch, from
an old block that Ridge uses for Geyserville,
so the cuttings included a bit of petite sirah,
syrah, carignan, grenache and some Italian
varieties. The 2014 is clean and direct in its

raspberry ripeness, darkened and softened
by oak aging. There's a comforting feel to
the raspy fruit tannins, lasting on gentle
minerality and spice. This is built for roast
venison or lamb. (1,274 cases) § Green & Red
Vineyard, St. Helena, CA
447291

92 | Hendry

$35

2014 Napa Valley Hendry Blocks 7 &
22 Zinfandel ^ The Hendry family farms
zinfandel at their ranch west of the city of
Napa, including these two blocks planted
with clone 2, one in 1975, the other in 1995.

Aged in French oak (about one-third new),
the 2014 is rich and finely integrated, a
dark-fruited zin with savory mineral notes.
It's brightened by warm spice in the finish,
lasting on a clean line. (1,741 cases) § Hendry
Ranch, Napa, CA
447462

92 | Ravenswood

$60

2014 Sonoma Valley Old Hill Zinfandel ^
Planted in the 1880s, Old Hill sustains some
of the oldest vines in California-mostly
zinfandel but also petite sirah and alicante
bouschet, a healthy proportion of grenache,
http://www.decouvertes-vins-rhone.com/fr/accueil-2017 https://shop.garyfarrellwinery.com/our-wines/2014-grist-vineyard-zinfandel-dry-creek-valley?pageID=95FDDD4B-9499-EF2B-4304-25F19B119869&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=99&
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2017
