07 Nov Grist Vineyard Pedigree
2012 Dry Creek Valley Grist Vineyard Zinfandel This wine could be exhibit one in an argument that site matters as much as vine age when it comes to growing great zinfandel. The vines aren’t particu-larly old in the context of California zin. They were planted in 1974 on a hilltop that looks down on Dry Creek Valley on one site and toward the rugged, often impassable ridges of the Coast Range in the other. In 2012, the vineyard’s red volcanic soils nour-ished a wine with unmistakable purity: vivid and tart, with lifted hibiscus and sumac aromas drawn out by the delicate touch of winemakers Micah Wirth and Adrian Manspeaker. Tasted over four days, this wine continued to evolve without flagging in the least. It builds toward a woodsy red-berry flavor that’s...