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2009 Primitivo, Vittorio's Vineyard
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2009 Primitivo, Vittorio’s Vineyard
Cases produced: 155
Alcohol 17
pH 3.66
TA .62
Zinfandel has always been our favorite grape and like all long time Zin drinkers we have been intrigued by the unknown lineage of this noble grape. After years of exhaustive research by researchers at U C Davis and collaborators at Universities in Italy, DNA testing recently proved that an obscure Italian varietal, Primitivo, was genetically the same as Zinfandel, and thus the source of the early vines that were brought from Europe in the mid 1800’s and propagated under the moniker “Zinfandel” by some enterprising marketer. It was later discovered that Primitivo was an import to Italy from an island off the coast of Croatia centuries ago, but this did not detract from the fact that it fits into the style of the great Italian varietals. Primitivo vines have been imported to California in the past 10 years or so, and wines made from them can be labeled either Zinfandel or Primitivo under current labeling laws since they are basically mutations, or clones, of the same grape.
This is our first true Primitivo and we felt compelled to use the lesser known name for the label as this wine stands out as something special. That’s not to say that this is a superior clone of Zinfandel, but rather that in the special terroir of Vittorio’s tiny, certified organic vineyard, Primitivo has produced a superior wine. This is a huge, jammy wine that possesses the right proportion of acid, spice and tannin to balance the generous fruit and alcohol resulting from letting the grapes reach their full potential on the vine. The wine is juicy, mouth filling and powerful, yet possesses elegance and grace in the mid palate and finish that assure a hedonistic experience and the promise of a long life.
Mendocino County has been recognized as “Americas greenest wine region”. At the recently completed 2011 Mendocino County Wine Competition, Claudia Springs Vittorio’s Vineyard Primitivo was named the Sweepstakes Winner as Mendocino County’s best “Green Wine” made from organic or biodynamic grown grapes.
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