Zepaltas Wines

The “Big Brother” in our Appellation series of Pinot Noirs. We set out in 2008 to make a wine that could reflect the best characteristics of Russian River Valley, at a great price, with out overdoing it. I love Russian River fruit, and I set out to harness the power of the fruit in the Valley. I wanted to make a pinot that was a bit more lush and vibrant than the other Zepaltas Pinots, but still have it taste like a Zepaltas Wine. I wanted to have great acidity, dense fruit character, yet not have it taste like it was farmed by Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

The 2010 version seems to be right in line with our vision, despite the “uber- cool” vintage. As mentioned earlier, we were careful when selecting the pieces for this blend. It was a challenging year, and some lots just had to be cast off. We are definitely building this bottling over time, but we are not going to dilute the quality just to make more cases. It is a blend of two vineyards Nunes (North Santa Rosa) and W.E. Bottoms (Occidental), where the former contributes the intense fruit aromatics, and flavors and the latter adds the structure and rustic qualities. On the nose intense Raspberry, Cherry and Rhubarb pie jump out of the glass. With some aeration, touches of dead leaves and mushrooms appear. While the vibrant acidity is present, this wine has a silky, plush feel that makes the wine “ready when you are.”

321 cases made
unfined & unfilterd