2016 Zinfandel – Call Me?
Stuhlmuller Vineyard, Alexander Valley, United States
This is our fifth release of Zinfandel!!
Time flies when you’re pounding Zinfandel.
The 2016 growing season in Sonoma was rather boring and uneventful…always a good thing for farmers. The season was early with bud break starting in February and flowering a month later. The spring was warm with minor rains that stunted development, leaving small bunches. The summer was quite moderate with minor heat spikes in June and July. August itself was rather cool with cloudy days. This gave the grapes time to balance sugars and maturity. Harvest started mid September and progressed through to the end of October. The fruit was healthy with no issues at harvest. All of this bodes well for killer wine, with fresh acids and ripe tannins.
As always our Zinfandel is a barrel selection from various plots around the Stuhlmuller property. There are just 3 acres of Zinfandel planted with a tiny amount of Petite Sirah, which is co-fermented at harvest. We always find ourselves fortunate to get a little nugget of this juice for ourselves!
Mark and I arrived into the valley earlier in the year than usual and thus were able to take full advantage of the barrels before they were barreled down further. As this was the case we were able to seclude two barrels of Zinfandel before they made their way into American oak. While the effects of American wood can be quite delightful for Zinfandel we found the 2016 vintage needing a lighter touch to help profile the super bright fruit.
This vintage of Zinfandel is probably my favorite to date. The wine is full of life and encapsulates everything one could yearn from this highly fruited grape. The wine sings with high tones of cold raspberry jam, end of season cherry and the slightly burnt edges of your mom’s brambleberry pie. Served slightly chilled this is a true summer time dinner wine.
The label this year is from a picture of an old rotary phone that I pinched while touring a farmers market years ago in Eastern Europe. The bonneted elderly lady manning the booth was quick with a waving finger signaling to me that photos were not appreciated. Anyone’s guess what she thought someone would do with a crappy phone picture of an old rotary phone. But, in hindsight, I suppose her old woman tingly sense went off that I would not buy her precious phone, but instead use a rendition of it for my own purposes. I should have bought the phone as a thank you to her. Next time.
The label is called “Call Me?”. This stems from the more flirtatious nature of Zinfandel. It is seductive and lures you in. It tantalizes you and when done right (as in this case…wink!) you are helpless against her talents and soon fall for her delights. A one night stand is inevitable. You wake in the morning as she leaves for the day and all you can think about is one more night of bliss. As she leaves you call out, “Call me?!”. And then she’s gone.
You’ll call me tomorrow… Right?
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