Leese - Fitch

2008 California Zinfandel

Notes

With a brilliant ruby color, this Zinfandel blend has intriguing aromas of wild raspberry, smoky cedar, strawberry jam, clove spice, and white pepper. You can tell this comes from an old vineyard in the Amador Foothills. There is a noticeable brambly spice with dark currants, candied cranberry, wild strawberry, dark caramel, cinnamon roll, and savory rhubarb. The finish lingers with toasted marshmallow, plum sauce, tamarind, and black cherry.

We have sourced this vineyard high in the Amador Foothills for the past three years. The fruit never ceases to amaze us. It is always intense and brambly with a lot of spice and dark fruit characteristics. This block is almost 60 years old and only gives us 3-4 tons per acre every year. As you can see, this Zinfandel block adds a ton of flavor to this blend. We tame this Zinfandel with some great jammy Syrah from Lodi to add and edge of bright fruit with savory spices. This blend shows wonderful balance of sweet fruit with spice, depth, and dark tannins all wrapped around a core of rich French oak and old vine characteristics.

Pairings

This is great grilling wine. The smoky oak notes of this Zin would pair wonderfully with the caramelized flavors in glazed ribs, chicken, or pork. Another fun pairing for this wine would be carne asada tacos with grilled spring onions and roasted tomato salsa served alongside black beans and Spanish rice.