2007 ZINFANDEL
Napa Valley
THE BLEND 76% Zinfandel 19% Petit Sirah 5% Carignane
PRODUCTION 11,500 cases
RELEASE DATE April 2009
RETAIL PRICE
$27.00
$22.95 Club Price
Quantity discount available
STATS
Harvested ~ August 24 - September 12. 23.9° brix at harvest. 13.4% alcohol. 0.62 gr/L total acidity. 3.63 pH. Aged 12 months in American oak
A BRIEF HISTORY
Yes, we have noticed that the monster Zins of the
'70s are still in fashion. And yes, just like fashion they command
monster prices based on their “big” alcohol, “big”
flavors, and “big” bottles. But Frog’s Leap
Zin is different: you can’t use this stuff to light your
charcoal grill.
Maybe it's that we found our early inspiration for Zinfandel
from a different source — instead of reinventing Zinfandel,
we looked to the past and the incredible Zins of the ’40s
and ’50s. Those wines taught us the lessons that the old-timers
knew: that field blends of Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Napa
Gamay all picked at ripeness (not as raisins) added color, aromatics,
and earthy complexity. In other words, the help of other varietals
was needed to reveal the Zinfandel grape's true flavors. These
principles form the foundation for our wine today.
ABOUT THE WINE
The wide range of aromas and flavors in our 2007 Zinfandel can again be attributed to its “field blend” origin. Grown and sometimes co-fermented together the three varietals of this wine—Zinfandel, Petite sirah and Carignane—each play critical roles in defining the wine’s character. The Zin tastes of wild berries and briary fruit marked with a touch of spice, while the ‘Pets’ adds dark color and a weighty mid-palate leaving the Carignane to account for the bright acidity and slight earthiness. Dry farmed and organically grown, the wine never feels over-blown yet it is full of juicy flavors of cherry and boysenberry underlined with layers of earth and spice. Plus, with an alcohol under 14%, it makes a wonderful companion to your next backyard barbeque.
WINEMAKERS
John Williams and Paula Moschetti |
