Howell Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel Beatty Ranch 2005

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Starting at: $39^.99

5 Reviews

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Winery:

Howell Mountain Vineyards

Varietal:

Zinfandel

Region:

USA > California > Napa County > Napa Valley > Howell Mountain

Type:

Red Wine

Color:

Drink Dates:

Drink Now - 2013

UPC:

 

User Tags:  earthy, chemical, color descriptors, spices, herbaceous, fruits, berry, bramble fruits, bright, easy drinking 

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What to Expect

Zinfandel is considered America's own great indigenous grape, even though its origins lie on the Adriatic coast. Planted throughout California and the Pacific Northwest, Zinfandel is at its best in warm regions with cooler temperatures during harvest. The wines can range from off-dry Rosés, White Zinfandels, and light bistro styled wines, to big, rich powerful wines - even luscious wines for dessert bottling. The flavors range from plummy to raspberry, although deep blackberry fruit and brambly spice tones are most common.

Winemakers Notes

At an elevation of over 1800 feet, the Beatty Ranch has 18 acres of the oldest Zinfandel vines on Howell Mountain. Planted on two meter by two meter spacing, the vines are head trained and carefully cultivated using minimal chemicals and no irrigation. It has produced top quality Zinfandel fruit for over 90 vintages. Each harvest, grapes are hand-picked, carefully sorted, destemmed, cold soaked and then fermented in small temperature-controlled tanks. The free run wine is gravity fed to the cellar, where it is aged in 60- gallon French oak barrels for fifteen months. After a second racking, read more...barrel selection determines the final blend to be labeled as Beatty Ranch Zinfandel. In 2005, warm temperatures in March forced early budbreak, and unusually dry Spring conditions hastened flowering and kept vine vigor under control. Summer was unremarkable until picking time, when a brief hot spell jumpstarted what had been a gradual beginning to the harvest. A longer, hotter spell after Labor Day turned paying attention into getting a move on, and harvest was underway. Planted at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Beatty Ranch produces some of Napa Valley's best Zinfandel. The 2005 is a gleaming medium ruby, with dusty wild cherry scents opening up to a dark core of almond, cedar and vanilla. In the mouth, refreshing acidity announces bright black fruit flavors that give way to deeper tones of coffee, chocolate and sweet spices. Firm structure, a slight grip, and lingering richness carry the wine to its customary bold finish.    (hide)

Editorial Reviews

Gregory-
Dal Piaz

Hand of Snooth Voice of Snooth

7,130

Intensely dark fruited aromatics greet the nose with a very powerful backdrop of earth, mineral, brambly, and oak tones. Really evolves in the glass revealing notes of dried herb, dried flowers and rocky, shale notes to the pomegranate and grenadine fruit. Shows surprising restraint in the mouth with excellent focus and precision. The acid is bright and the tannins are fine-grained allowing the deep core of dark yet fresh plummy fruit to come to the fore. There is a lurking touch of peach nectar and vanilla but the fruit is accented by expressive spice and soil tones. A well behaved monster of a read more...Zin with the structure and balance to reward cellaring Finishes with good length if a touch clumsy due to the youthful tannins. A bit of buttery wood lingers on the finale. 92pts    (hide)

November 2008

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