100 Amazing Wines 2022: 8 zinfandels

Carlisle Winery & Vineyards

2020 Mancini Ranch Russian River Valley Zinfandel ($54)

Mike Officer, a founding member of the Historic Vineyard Society, wants to save as many old-vine plantings as possible. He’s making zinfandels and field blends from the vineyards still pumping out fruit, including Mancini. Planted in 1922 (right after the start of Prohibition!) at the corner of Piner and Olivet roads outside Santa Rosa, Mancini has carignane, abouriou, valdiguié, alicante bouschet, grand noir and petite sirah planted within the zinfandel blocks. For decades, this vineyard slowly declined, with little effort made to replace missing or diseased vines. But new owner Max Reichwage is restoring Mancini to its former glory, improving soil and vine health. This zinfandel offers a mouthful of raspberry and dark cherry, plumped by vigorous acidity. The Carlisle name comes from the maiden name of Officer’s wife, Kendall. They also own the Carlisle Vineyard — formerly Pelletti — also in Russian River Valley. Forty varieties have been recorded in the vineyard, all going into the Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel ($54).

Dutcher Crossing Winery

2018 Pritchett Peaks Vineyard Rockpile Zinfandel ($52)

Debra Mathy bought this winery and 35 acres in 2007. The previous owners produced five wines, with founding winemaker Kerry Damskey. Fifteen years later, Mathy has grown the business to more than 30 wines, many made from grapes bought from outstanding sites throughout Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties. Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot noir, carignane, cabernet sauvignon, bubblies — and zinfandel. Established by the Mauritson family, Pritchett Peaks Vineyard is an immaculately farmed site in the rock-strewn Rockpile AVA, providing Dutcher Crossing winemaker Nick Briggs with the fruit to produce a wine with briary red and black fruit, loads of pepper and brown baking spice and suave, supple tannins.

Limerick Lane Cellars

2019 “1910” Block Zinfandel Russian River Valley ($68)

For owners Jack and Alexis Bilbro, there is no better place to grow zinfandel in Sonoma County than eastern Russian River Valley. It’s warm enough to ripen sun-seeking zin grapes, yet in the path of cooling fog that slows the ripening period and helps preserve the natural acidity that allows zin to have zing. The Limerick Lane estate was planted by the Del Fava family in 1910, and the 5 remaining acres of the original “mixed blacks” plantings are the base for this wine. In addition to zinfandel, the varieties include peloursin, negrette, alicante bouschet, syrah and petite sirah; they’re harvested and co-fermented at the same time to become a wine that can’t be produced anywhere else. From its inviting floral aromas to its dark cherry/strawberry compote core to the supple texture and balancing acidity, it’s a distinctive sip of history.

Muscardini Cellars

2019 Los Chamizal Vineyards Moon Mountain District Sonoma Valley Zinfandel ($52)

Hedonism alert: This Best of Class zin at the 2022 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge came from mountain-grown fruit, making it even more intense and structured than most. Still, it wears its weight well, thanks to its bright fruit (black raspberry, black currant and blueberry), lively acidity and caressing tannins. Marvelously complex, its descriptors include black pepper, mocha, anise, molasses, black fig and fresh sage.

Nalle Winery

2020 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($45)

Trends in zinfandel styles change every decade or so. One day, elegant, claret-like wines are popular; the next, 16.5% alcohol fruit bombs. The swings in popularity are often reactions to what wineries think will win over influential critics. Doug and Lee Nalle have never played that game. Since 1984, they’ve produced zinfandels of supreme balance and poise — wines they want to drink, scores be damned (though they’ll take ’em). Usually under 14% alcohol, their zins are pretty, not powerful. They capture the racy, brambly raspberry and red cherry flavors and exotic spice character of the grape, with nary a raisiny taste nor palate heat. The Nalles’ son, winemaker Andrew, and his viticulturist wife, April, are in lockstep with the style, which continues with a wine I tried for the first time this fall: the 2020 Estate Ranch Red ($45), a seamless blend of 60% zinfandel and 40% cabernet sauvignon.

Ridge Vineyards

2020 Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley Zinfandel ($42)

Ridge’s Lytton Springs and Geyserville bottlings are critical favorites in the Sonoma County-grown zinfandel world, and they’re widely distributed. Yet since 1991, Ridge has looked to Sonoma Valley for its Pagani Ranch zinfandel, and the 2020 vintage is superb. Ninety percent zinfandel with splashes of petite sirah and alicante bouschet, it shows the age of the vines (120 years) in the intensely exotic wild berry fruit, cherry compote, red plum and peppery profile. It has lively acidity, too. All this comes at a surprisingly low (for zinfandel) 13.8% alcohol level. Ridge uses petite sirah liberally in its zin-centric wines, as it’s often naturally present in old-vine field blends. For a change of pace, try the 2019 Lytton Estate Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah ($42) — plummy, muscular and chocolate-y.

St. Anne’s Crossing

2019 Bar None Sonoma Valley Zinfandel ($50)

Ken and Diane Wilsons’ Kenwood winery is, like most of their other Sonoma County wineries, zinfandel-obsessed, and with a Sonoma Valley bent. Most of their zins are small-volume and geared for onsite tastings and sales, so a winery visit, online order or wine club membership is the best way to acquire this gorgeous wine. It has admirable purity of red and blue fruits and great balance and is integrated from start to finish. Delicious says it all.

Wilson of Dry Creek

2019 Treborce Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($42)

Ken and Diane Wilsons’ winery portfolio started with this winery and nearby Mazzocco Vineyards and grew to more than 10 Sonoma County brands, most with zinfandel. Among the dozens of vineyards they source for zin is Bob Littell’s Treborce Vineyard on the benchlands of eastern Dry Creek Valley. It was planted in 1999 with budwood taken from four century-old vineyards and grafted onto phylloxera-resistant St. George rootstock. This preserved the old-timers’ character before the vines would be ripped out when they stopped producing viable crops. This is a big wine with intense blackberry fruit and toasty vanillin oak, notes of brown sugar, cola and licorice and a lush, velvety finish.