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In every way, this is classic Zinfandel.  Planted on steeply rounded slopes this 18 acre site was christened "Michael's Vineyard" in honor of Michael Whitener, our vineyard manager emeritus, who chose the site and established the vineyard in 2003.  Michael, who was raised in the hills of Westside Paso Robles, felt strongly that this precipitous and undulating hilltop, with its deeper, well draining soils, would lend itself particularly well to historic dry farming techniques.  Budwood from the two oldest vineyards in the Paso Robles appellation (110 and 80 years old, also known as heritage clones) provided the planting material.  Spaced 12' x 12' to allow maximum ground water exposure, these head trained vines take the shape of a top heavy bush or inverted goblet.  Now, deeply rooted, they appear vigorous, even after three years of drought conditions.   

 

This, our second declared vintage, had yields of a mere one ton/acre, similar to the restricted productivity of much older vines.  Zinfandel, famously (some would say infamously), produces clusters of widely uneven ripeness, some berries sweet, and others still green.  To ensure balanced flavors, we do taste trials based on fruit selected from several positions within the vine, rather than random clusters.  The resulting harvest gave us density of flavor without the often encountered over-ripe raisin flavors.  Picked in early September, the berries were destemmed, allowed a short temperate soak,  fermented with native yeast, pumped over to accentuate aeration, then moved to barrel for nearly a two year maturing in mostly neutral (second and third use) French oak casks.