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Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot
Reserve Zinfandel
Zinfandel
Syrah
Sauvignon Blanc
Tasting Notes
One of the defining characteristics of this wine is its intense, jammy fruit. It also has a rich, voluptuous mouthfeel
and a round, almost sweet finish. While the wine is analytically dry, this perceived sweetness is actually brought about by the elevated alcohol.
What’s missing is any hint of ‘hotness’ or excessive alcohol one might find in such a wine. So rich and flavorful is our 2000 Reserve Zinfandel,
that the alcohol is actually in balance with the other flavor/tactile components of the wine. In a word, this wine is 'balanced.' This Reserve
Zinfandel can match up to any dish calling for a big, full-throttled wine; pastas, meats, even dark chocolate. For a real eye-opening treat, serve
this wine at dessert paired with Chocolate Decadence covered by a concentrated raspberry puree.
Fermentation Data
The grapes from the 2000 vintage were allowed to hang on the vine a little longer than normal and became ultra-ripe, being picked at 27.5 Brix. The resulting high alcohol (nearly 16%!) caused some nervous nights during the harvest. There were several instances when the yeast couldn’t tolerate the alcohol and the wine actually stopped fermenting before it was dry. In fact, the final lot of this wine finished fermenting just prior to the 2002 harvest, two years later! The resulting wine is truly wonderful.
The still fermenting wine was put into seasoned American and French barrels, where it aged for 30 months with minimal handling and just one racking during that time. Prior to bottling, it was blent with 10% Syrah (also from the Miller’s vineyard) which helped give the wine some depth, dark fruit flavors and a little bit of a tannic backbone. This also served Éto knock the final blend alcohol down to a more manageable 15.2%! The wine was bottled unfined and minimally filtered in August of 2003.
Vineyard Data
The Miller family planted and has lovingly nurtured their Temperance Creek Vineyard since the mid-1980’s. Located in the Sierra Foothills in Mariposa County, about two miles (as the crow flies) from the remote enclave of Hornitos, California, but down an endless dirt road and approximately 100 yards from the end of the Earth, this little vineyard pumps out some REALLY BIG ZINFANDEL. Bigger some years than others, but never for the faint of heart, the fruit from the Miller’s vineyard makes wines typical of the monster Zins for which the Sierra Foothills appellation is widely known.
