2005 Late Harvest Zinfandel

This very interesting Zinfandel comes from the Kidd Ranch in St. Helena. In 2005, I was lucky enough to purchase this fruit that came in at over 30 Brix and over 1.0 gm/100 mL total acidity - these are the type of numbers you see in Auslese Riesling from Germany. I had only about 2 tons of the fruit so I decided to let it go and make a sweet wine.

The 2005 Late Harvest Zinfandel has an intense strawberry / blackberry jam nose. The very lush, slightly sweet mouth has flavors of fresh strawberries and dried cherries, with hints of spice. This wine finishes with a crisp fruity blast. The light sweetness is balanced by the crisp natural acidity. This is a wonderful wine to have with a cheese course or summer fruits.

Viticulture:

Appellation: 97.7% St. Helena

Varietal Content: 100% Zinfandel

Production: 181 cases, 375 ml

Release date: June 1, 2007

Winemaking:

Time in oak: 11 months

Bottling: October 2006

Fining: No fining

Alcohol: 15.9%

Residual Sugar: 4.2 gm/100mL

Titratable Acidity: 1.04gm/100mL

Aging potential: 5 to 7 years