St. Francis Old Vine Zinfandel 2019

 A rich and balanced blend of old Californian vines. St. Francis Old Vine Zinfandel 2017 has a lively bouquet with abundant berry and baking spice aromas. Tastes like blackberry and blueberry jam in a raspberry and cranberry pie with spicy notes of anise, pepper, liquorice and cinnamon. This medium-bodied Zinfandel lingers for a long, smooth finish.

81% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah and 5% mixed blacks. The grapes come from vineyards in Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. These historic vines are between 50–100 years old and grow in St. George rootstock. They produce low yields of fruit with highly concentrated, intense flavours and aromas.

Gentle destemming and crushing before cold-soaking the grapes for 3 days to extract optimal colour and flavour. The fruit is then inoculated with many different yeast strains to build complexity. Fermentation in separate lots using a combination of pump-overs and delestage to soften tannins. Secondary malolactic fermentation occurs in 100% French oak barrels. The wine ages in barrel for 16 months before final blending and bottling.

St. Francis is a certified California sustainable vineyard and winery, earning their sustainability certification in 2013 after a multi-year process from the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.