The Grapes are from a vineyard situated on the rolling hills between HW 101 and Dutcher Creek Rd in the Alexander Valley. The age of the vines varies from 45 to over 100 years old. Decomposed rock and brick red Manzanita-type soils are usually very well suited for low pH Zins with deep red color and solid, age-worthy structure.

It would be easy to say that the 2020 grape harvest season was challenging but that would be a great understatement. Between the fires, the smoke, and COVID-19 safety guidelines, stress levels were at an all-time high for all winemakers throughout the West Coast. I have 20 harvests at Trentadue (30 total in California) under my belt, but this one was absolutely the most challenging vintage of my career (the previous was 2019). The vintage started early and finished earlier than usual. The yields were very small due to dry conditions causing small clusters and small berries but ultimately very concentrated wines with deep dark colors.

The fruit was handled in the gentlest way possible. The grapes were hand-sorted and fermented in small open-top fermenters with minimum hand punch-downs per day. As usual, the goal is to maximize the beautiful Zin aromas and minimize tannic harshness. The wine completed malolactic fermentation in barrels. The wine was aged in 20% new European oak barrels for about 16 months.