2007 Napa County Zinfandel

The 2007 growing season was one to remember in Northern California and will surely turn out as one of the finer vintages ever produced.   Throughout the year the weather was incredibly stable with no hard frosts or extreme heat.   The early season was on the colder side providing natural crop thinning.   Over on the Napa side, it was quite a bit warmer.   While the Zinfandel berries were on the smaller side, clusters remained tight and we had to keep a sharp eye on things to make sure no bacteria got out of control. The weather warmed near the end of August only to drop off with threats of moderate rain.   But a little late fall warming helped us get this fruit ripe.   The extra hang time has led to a subtle and responsive Zinfandel that is a wonderful food wine.  

Average Harvest Brix:	25.8°
Average Harvest PH:	3.50
Alcohol:	14.3%
Harvest Date	October 12th , 2007
Cases Produced:	128
Cooperage:	25% New French Oak-Medium Toast 75% Used French Oak (Chardonnay Barrels)
Vineyard:	Moss Creek Latitude 38°26’59.86” N, LONGITUDE 122°11’39.58” W
Trellis:	East West Facing Head Trained
Yield:	4 tons per acre
Blend:	5% Durif

Moss Creek is tucked deep into the far eastern portions of Napa County near Lake Berryessa. The 40 years old vines sit in a valley that gets nice and hot during the days and cools off in the evenings to help balance out the acids.   We set out to be adventurous in our winemaking and this vineyard was chosen for interesting flavors that led us to believe this wouldn't be an in your face zinfandel like the thousands of others.   We took great care to ensure that matching Zinfandel with food would be the end result in our winemaking plan.  

After harvest, the fruit was de-stemmed and cold soaked in one ton fermentation bins for 5 days. As with all of our wines, fermentation then occurred naturally with native vineyard yeasts over the course of 7 days. Native fermentation leads to more complexity and character. The fruit was then pressed where 85% of the juice in each barrel was out of the press (press run) and 15% of each barrel was juice that naturally leaked out of the berries during fermentation (Free Run). Generally, press run juice has higher concentrations of residual sugars, tannins and acids. The free run juice helps us balance this out. From there, malolactic fermentation occurred naturally until early spring where one racking took place to rid the barrels of acids and dead yeast cells (lees). The wine was then bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Tasting Notes

Our 2007 122° West Winery Zinfandel will attract you with a ruby color and spicy, perfumed and floral nose.   The soft mouthfeel will delight you with intense notes of red cherries and raspberries while lesser flavors of wet stone and earthiness round out the fruit character.   The bright natural acidity leads to a long and rewarding finish that is rounded out by subtle sandalwood and cherry notes.   It pairs wonderfully with a grilled Cheeseburger.  

Decant

We recommend you decant all of our wines for at least an hour before enjoying.  

View our maps page to see where 'X' marks the vine.