2004 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY ZINFANDEL
Ottimino Vineyard
The first vintage for Brad Alper's Ottimino Vineyard was in 2004, making this the inaugural release from the “home ranch.” The vineyard, planted on land that previously nurtured Ottimino Christiani’s apple orchard, is located on the same ridgeline as Von Weidlich and Rancho Bello Vineyards, and Ottimino Vineyard shares their Goldridge soil structure and temperate climatic traits. The vineyard rows run nearly north and south, providing proper exposure during the long summer days. The vines are trained to a vertical cordon, allowing the clusters optimal access to dappled sunlight and gentle, cooling breezes. Budwood was sourced from benchmark old vine Zinfandel vineyards, and two blocks feature the Mendocino and Bradford Mountain selections. A smaller block, planted a few years earlier, contains the Costa Magna selection and stock from the Von Weidlich and Rancho Bello vineyards, which extends the historical lineage of the area’s Zinfandel. The rootstock is the vigorous, disease-resistant St. George, which minimizes virus potential and aids vine growth under our dry-farmed conditions. Like all of Ottimino's vineyards, the vines are cropped for low yields to achieve unique flavors and unparalleled quality.
The 2004 Ottimino Vineyard Zinfandel was harvested on September 17, extremely early for the Russian River Valley. This will undoubtedly remain one of the earliest harvests we record for quite some time (though Global Warming may ultimately exert an influence!). Despite their early growth under dry-farmed conditions, the vines had full canopies in third leaf, thereby providing ample protection for a crop that set near two tons per acre. The intense heat pushed ripening along quickly and evenly, and we sampled on a daily basis to catch the optimal flavor profile, which was just over 25 Brix. We crushed and fermented the fruit utilizing our standard practice of minimal intervention. The must was cold-soaked for two days prior to inoculation with D254, a Rhone isolate. Extraction with irrigation and punchdown continued until dryness, when the new wine was pressed off. Malolactic finished during aging in 40% new French oak custom-built for Ottimino by Roberts Cooperage. The wine was racked quarterly and bottled without fining.
TASTING NOTES:
Blackberry and black cherry dominate the aromas, with white pepper and oak chiming in. The flavors add hints of blueberry, raspberry and cassis. Bold fruit at entry leads to a broad middle, and the finish is firm and persistent. This Zinfandel was designed for its versatility with food, and its heartiness should lead you to a broad spectrum of exotic pairings.
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TECHNICAL NOTES
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| Production Details |
Analytical Data
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| Blend: | 100% Zinfandel | Harvested: | September 17, 2004 | |||||
| Vineyard: | Ottimino | Brix 25.5º | ||||||
| Appellation: | Russian River Valley | T.A. 6.8 g/l | ||||||
| Aging: | Twenty-one months | pH 3.58 | ||||||
| Cooperage: | Roberts (custom-built) & Dargaud Jaegle | Bottled: | July 18, 2006 | |||||
| Barrel Age: | 40% new & 60% 1- & 2-year-old | T.A. 5.5 g/l | ||||||
| Production: | 460 cases produced | pH 3.85 | ||||||
