2006 Estate Zinfandel— Release Date: April, 2009

The William Talty Vineyard is located on our property in the Dry Creek Valley, Healdsburg, California. My Father's namesake, this 45-year old, dry farmed and head pruned vineyard is held to only 2 tons per acre of production. This ensures the intensity and concentration of the fruit from the very start. 

Wine Maker / Tasting notes: In the nose, fruit of bing cherries and black currants complemented with dark chocolate and hints of mocha coffee. This new Zinfandel has a mouth feel that makes quite an impact on the palate. Starting with a hint of vanilla, moving to the mid-palate with dark bing cherries, black currants, and a smidge of rhubarb. Ending with lively acidity that narrowly focuses it's unwavering fruit, finishing with a long and lingering experience.

2006 Filice Connolly Vineyard— Release Date: October, 2008

The Filice Connolly vineyard is located in the small town of St. Helena in the northern Napa Valley. This 60 year-old vineyard is only about 2.5 acres, head-pruned and dry-farmed just like our estate vineyard. This small vineyard is held to only produce aboout 2 tons per acre, only about 309 cases were produced, and therefore the fruit quality is exceptional and the wine that is truly exciting.

Wine Maker / Tasting notes: The 2006 Filice Connolly Zinfandel might just be the most multilayered and concentratred offering from this vineyard thus far under the Talty label! 100% Zinfandel aged solely in air-dried American oak. The wine starts with a big nose of light smoky spice. Once in the mouth, this wine bursts with luscious black currant and ripe brambles on the attack, moving through the mid palate with boysenberry and dark bing cherry. The fruit is driven by fresh acidity, which spreads it vibrantly over the entire palate maintaining a long lingering finish, which is complimented with a white pepper stucture.

309 cases produced

2005 Estate Zinfandel — Rated 90 points

Wine Maker / Tasting Notes: Now after 36 months of bottle ageing the 2005 Estate Zinfandel has begun to truly blossom in the bottle. Barrel aged for 12 months in 35% French oak and 65% American oak with a blend of 7% Estate Petite Sirah and 3% Estate Carignane. This succulent wine is representative of Dry Creek Valley, ripe black cherries with hints of boysenberries and plum. This Zinfandel has depth and broad complexity, balanced wonderfully with mouth-rounding "Zinlicious" fruit, finalizing with a long, lingering finish.

872 cases produced

Our goals as a winery are to produce the highest quality wines through careful and meticulous farming processes in the vineyard, allowing our winemaker to start his winemaking at the very beginning of the process, in the vineyard.

One of the exciting things about growing and making Zinfandel; the Mother Nature factor. She produces slight nuances from year to year based on the growing season--intense heat that spares only the heartiest vines and fruit, cool temperatures that allow long hang times and add layers of flavors and fruity complexity--slight variation that can only be complemented by considerate farming and winemaking practices. After all, great wine is made in the vineyard.

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 truely 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.