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2009 Zinfandel - Filice Connolly Vineyard, NapaValley
It was always going to be tough for the 2009 vintage, following on from our 93pt. 2008 Filice Connolly Zinfandel. Incredibly however, this small Napa vineyard has managed to upstage itself again. I think it will be very tough for our tasters at the winery to pronounce a favorite between these two excellent vintages. If anything the 2009 vintage was a slightly more favorable growing season, which enabled us to pick at optimal ripeness, but I am going to stay out of this one. I will let you pick your favorite!
Tasting Notes: 100% Zinfandel aged in 100% American oak barrels. Spicy, fresh dark currants indulge the nose, followed by black pepper, cocoa, toasted oak, and brambly black raspberry fruit. With air, the wood spice and toast become more apparent but never overpower the wonderfully juicy varietal fruit. Rich and powerful, finishing with big fresh balanced, complex, spicy, black raspberry fruit.
289 cases produced.
2009 Zinfandel - Dwight Family Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
This is the youngest of the three vineyards we work with. Every year we are impressed by how much progress this vineyard makes, which is credited to Herb Dwight. Herb’s mission is to grow world class Zinfandel and we are here to let his fruit express itself in the bottle. 2009 was no exception, the near perfect growing season allowed this little vineyard to produce truly gorgeous fruit and we are extremely happy that we managed to capture it all in the bottle. This is the best bottling from the Dwight Family yet. We hope you enjoy it and we look forward to seeing where this vineyard will go next!
Tasting Notes: 95% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah aged in a blend of 75% American oak and 25% French oak barrels. In the nose, this new Zinfandel has red currants, violets, sage, and toasted spice. On the palate, big pure juicy fruit, soft tannins, with spice, vanilla toasted oak and perfect balance that lets this fruit shine!
312 cases produced.
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2008 Talty Estate Zinfandel – Dry Creek Valley
Our Estate Zinfandel comes from our own six acre, 48 year old head-pruned and dry-farmed vineyard in the heart of Dry Creek Valley. Our goal each year is to drop fruit production in the vineyard to about 2 - 2.5 tons of fruit per acre.
Tasting Notes: 7% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane, and 90% Zinfandel. Spicy and briary on the nose, topped by crushed blackberry fruit with notes of toasty cedar spice and vibrantly focused floral scents. Balanced in the mouth with bright acidity and lovely, round, soft tannins supporting notably fresh blackberry, dark raspberry, and cherry fruit finishing long and lingering on the palate.
769 cases produced.
2008 Filice
Connolly Vineyard Zinfandel -- Napa Valley
Top Zinfandels from California at ZAP Festival 2011 - 93 points
Gregory Dal Piaz
Our small 2.5 acre Filice Connolly vineyard has done
it again. As was the 2007 harvest season, the 2008 season experienced another rather
difficult growing season that saw intense heat and very little rainfall for the
second year in a row. The 2008 harvest came in about 1 - 2 weeks earlier than average
years, but this little head pruned, dry farmed vineyard has shown its quality again.
As always, we only allow this vineyard to yield about 2 tons per acre which
intensifies the flavors from the very start. Tasting Notes: 100% Zinfandel fermented in small half ton batches on
it's own native yeasts. Aged solely in American oak for 12 months and in bottle for
an additional 9 months. This Zinfandel is bursting with black currants and fresh
strawberries. Once again, a great expression of the special Filice Connolly Vineyard.
It has a lightly toasted spice and black pepper mid palate, ending with a long and
lingering finish.
284 cases produced.
2008 Dwight
Family Vineyard Zinfandel -- Dry Creek Valley
The Dwight Family Vineyard is a 7-acre hillside
vineyard with an eastern exposure in the beautiful Dry Creek Valley. It was a long
time dream for Herb and Jane Dwight, the owners of the vineyard. This vineyard is
purposely held to a little under two tons per acre of fruit production and is
uniquely different from the other two vineyards that Talty Winery sources from as it is both trellised and lightly irrigated. I feel this makes a different and complementary wine to our existing Filice Connolly and our Estate Zinfandel.
Tasting Notes: 97%
Zinfandel, 3% Petite Sirah aged in a blend of 75% American oak and 25% French oak
barrels . This new Zinfandel has juicy cherry and red currants on the attack with a
hint of violet, complemented with spice and toasted cedar. These fruits mix on the
back palate with nicely balanced vanilla oak undertones. A nice long lingering finish
is sure to satisfy and require another sip or two.
288 cases produced. |
2007 Talty
Estate Zinfandel — Dry Creek Valley
Great Sonoma Zinfandels at ZAP Festival 2011 - 93 points
Gregory Dal Piaz
Thanks to the Mother Nature factor during the 2007
vintage, our Estate Zinfandel is one of the most concentrated Estate Zins produced to
date. Our goal each year is to drop fruit production in the vineyard to about 2- 2.5
tons of fruit per acre. The 2007 vintage only produced about 1.5 tons per acre. The
clusters were small and the berries were about 2/3 the size of normal/or regular
years. The resulting wine is dense, concentrated, and multi layered. What a
Beauty!!!
Tasting Notes: 7% Petite
Sirah, 3% Carignane, and 90% Zinfandel. Beautiful ruby / purple color. The nose is
very typical of our Estate, exuding concentrated cherry, blackberry and plum. There
is a back ground hint of toasted hazelnut and vanilla making you want to dive in.
Darker cherry and boysenberry fruit burst forth across the palate and blend with a
back end mocha flavor for a persisting long finish. After 12 months in the barrel and
a further 15 months in the bottle, the tannins and acidity of the wine are well
balanced giving a lush body and long penetrating finish. 629 cases produced
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| The Talty winemaking
philosophy is simple: wine is made in the vineyard. Our single-vineyard designation
and that critical balance between winemaker and vine make our Estate Zinfandel so
special. Great care goes into every growing season, and using the natural yeast of
our own vineyard to ferment the Zinfandel maintains the uniqueness of our special
viticultural area. This is what makes our wines such a wonderful
experience. Although we have been making our wines for
more than a decade, this commercial venture is representative of our wine-making
dream come true: a handcrafted, velvety-smooth, rich, full-bodied Estate Zinfandel
from the fruit of our vines. This Zinfandel has been fermented and aged under our own
watchful gaze — truly the winemaker growing with the vine! Estate wines of the Talty Winery come from dry-farmed grapes grown on our
own six-acre vineyard in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley. As was my
father's way, each Talty Zinfandel is truly handcrafted, from vine to wine. Our
dry-farmed and head-pruned vines purposely produce a very small crop —
approximately two tons per acre. This ensures the intensity and concentration of the
fruit from the very start. Once picked, our grapes are fermented by their own natural
yeast in small, open-top bins. They are punched down five times per day for the best
flavor and color extraction. Our wines are available
through our mailing list, at the winery, or at a handful of selected local fine wine
retailers.
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