The proper entrance is with head bowed and on bended knee. The 5-acre Royal Tee vineyard at Jessie’s Grove near the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta town of Lodi has endured for 128 years. Originally planted in the midst of 320 loamy, oak-studded acres by pioneer Joseph Spenker and named for his daughter Jessie, the property is now farmed by Greg Burns, Spenker’s great-great grandson. Here, tradition holds; deep roots are venerated. The gnarly vines, resembling stunted oaks, are comprised of 86 percent head-trained Zinfandel, with a field blend of Black Prince, a close cousin of Cinsault and of Moroccan decent, Flame Tokay, once a popular table grape, and Mission grapes brought to California by Franciscan friars in the 1700s. The last jewels in the treasure chest are ancient Carignane vines. Each contributes a distinct element for the alchemy we strive for. This is our first project supporting Lodi growers and we are honored that Greg Burns has entrusted us to work with arguably the most cherished vineyard of a region already renowned for its ancient vines.

Greg Burns, proprietor/vineyard manager/winemaker of Jesse’s Grove and the ancient “Royal T” Zinfandel vineyard near the banks of the Mokelumne River is the 5th generation of his family to oversee this hallowed plot in the Lodi region and one of the most venerable in the country, the vines are a mix of 6 varietals: Zinfandel is the primary (82%) with the remainder being a shotgun-planting approach of Carignane, Malvasia Bianca, Mission, Black Prince & Flame Tokay. The last three of these are heirloom varietals no longer planted but having rich histories dating back to the 1500s in the Iberian Peninsula and ultimately transferred to the New World. Welcome to our new world of ancient vines!

Planted in 1888, The Jesse’s Grove “Royal T” vineyard was struck on its own roots in sandy silt river-overflow soils formed during the last 100,000 years as erosion deposits from the newly-formed (and still uplifting) Sierra Nevada mountains. The 6 varietals, scattered randomly across the vineyard, was a standard planting scenario for the period. Now deeply rooted (30’ and counting), the vines are dry-farmed to organic standards.

The 2016 vintage was ideal, with no hiccups. The year was warm and the fruit ripened at an accelerated rate. Picking was done at dawn and the fruit arrived in our pickup trucks COLD! Fermentation was done according to the auspices of the Lodi Native Society, both primary and secondary fermentation were conducted using indigenous or native yeast and ML without any additions, but with a twist. The Flame Tokay, Black Prince and Mission grapes were gently placed as whole-cluster (without destemming) at the bottom of the fermenter, and these grapes were kept anaerobic while the destemmed but uncrushed Zin and Carignane were placed on top. This mixture was chilled overnight and then allowed to ferment as a semi-“carbonic maceration,” with the wild yeast fermentation taking off after 2 days of cold soak and continued with semi-carbonic maceration. Total time en couvaison was 15 days.

For barrel aging, the wine was transferred immediately from the press to half French, half American oak twice and thrice-used barrels. Since the whole-cluster portion gave up a fair amount of sugar, the primary fermentation finished in barrel and was kept on the lees for 11 months with first weekly, then monthly stirring.

Ethereal spicy aromas derive from this mélange of fruit cohabiting for nearly 130 years in this iconic vineyard in the heart of California Delta country. Pinot-like smoothness achieved from partial whole-cluster fermentation defines the flavors of layered plum, fruit compote and spicy pumpkin with just enough spice to remind that this is predominantly Zinfandel.