2007 Vassar Vineyard Zinfandel

2007 Vassar Vineyards picked as one of the Top Ten California Zinfandels by Snooth!
Thanks to Snooth for such an excellent review of Vassar Vineyards!  The entire article can be found here:

http://www.snooth.com/articles/wine-reviews/top-zinfandels-from-california/

2007 Claudia Springs Redwood Valley Zinfandel Vassar Vineyard, 14.7%
Very interesting on the nose, with layers of chocolate, eucalyptus and licorice giving the core of slightly jammy grippy and boysenberry fruit a slight medicinal edge. Lovely freshness and sapid acidity in the mouth gives this a seductive feel and, while the fruit is rich, it takes a bit of a second seat to the structural elements of the wine. The finish is all about sour red fruits and has great length to the cranberry and raspberry fruit tones ending on a very firm mineral tone. A bit unusual but still has a lot of appeal. I bet this would be even better with food and seems like it would be a great match for duck. Subtle, complex and firm, this absolutely grows on me. 92pts

2007 Claudia Springs Zinfandel, Vassar Vineyard, Redwood Valley

 

Cases produced:                      125                 

Alcohol                                   14.7

pH                                           3.45

TA                                             .63   

Vassar Vineyard has been a staple of our Zinfandel for 15 years.  Our first was in 1996 when the owners allowed us to make a stealth purchase of a small portion of grapes destined for a larger winery.  The results were so good that we were promised Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from our favorite block of the 30 acre vineyard as long as we wanted them.  This wine always produces a wine that has more tannic structure than others from Redwood Valley.  Usually it does not reach its potential until 2 or 3 years after bottling, and continues for many years in the bottle (the 1996 vintage is just now losing its luster). 

For this vintage we decided to give the wine a longer barrel aging so that the wine would be closer to its potential upon bottling.  Vassar Zinfandel has an inherent core of cherry which is now beginning to emerge in the nose.  In the flavors the cherry is now peeping through, along with seductive flavors that express milk chocolate and strawberries with some almonds on the side.  There is a great balance of acid and tannin to assure a long life.