Zepaltas Wines

Tiny clusters always provide intense powerful dark juice. The cold weather helps the clusters retain their acidity so we can make a powerful wine with lots of grip, and the ability to age a long time. 2007 brought a few changes to the vineyard. John D. Suacci brought in the expertise of West County local superstar farmer Charlie Heintz (of the famous Heintz Vineyard just outside of Occidental, CA) to takeover management of the vineyard. The goal was to increase yields in the vineyard because yields have been too low to even break even for John. Charlie really turned things around in the vineyard and we were able to get better-balanced vines that in turn gave us better-balanced fruit.

The resulting wine from Suacci Vineyard shows us an added layer to the ever-present herbal, and sour fruit qualities. Upon opening the wine you get hints of eucalyptus, mint and raspberry. In 2007 we also got a plush layer of cherries added to the mix that is exciting to me. As the wine opens up the new velvety layers roll out and display flavors of cherries, pomegranate and cassis liqueur. The finish is tightened nicely up by the always-present Suacci acidity. This wine should continue to improve for the next few years, and judging by the way the 05 and 06 are showing, great things are to come for those of you who like to tuck wines away for a few years.