The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Rockpile

Varietal   Zinfandel

Retail Price   $78

ABV   14.75%

Score   4.5 Stars/94 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, dark ruby/purple color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of blackberry, graphite, and cassis with supporting notes of bramble, slate, and hints of cigar box.

The palate confirms the nose delivering a black fruit-driven core with flavors of wild blueberry, raspberry, baking spices, and black tea joining grape skins in the tannins. The finish is long and lingering with chewy tannins.

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a meaty yet supple texture.

Cool Factor

We miss the great old-styled Zinfandels and this wine brings us back to those days. This wine is the sum of a great appellation, vineyard, and winemaker with a terrific story to boot!

Value Grade

Getting straight to the point — this wine isn't cheap! However, there are just 120 cases made from a select spot in one of the greatest Zinfandel vineyards on the planet.

Analysis

We Know Jack! Yes, it’s a seemingly silly name for a wine brand but stick with us and it will all make sense. The brand arose as many have in California. Wine lovers become vineyard owners who sell their fruit to select winemakers. Over time they succumb to the temptation to transform some of their fruit into a wine of their own. Owners Mark Zuckerman and Lori Hunt purchased the Jack Florence Sr. Vineyard from Jack Sr. himself. Jack Jr. continues as the vineyard manager for this famed vineyard in the Rockpile AVA (Sonoma County, CA). The grapes for this wine are sourced from a special block within the vineyard that spans roughly 14 acres in sum. The wines are made by James MacPhail, an award-winning winemaker familiar to every BevX reader via Tongue Dancer Wines. 2021 was a drought year with a warm spring and a hot summer. Despite conditions the fruit from this vineyard was optimal and the proof is in the bottle. It’s a classic blend of 91% Zinfandel with 9% Petite Sirah co-fermented and aged in French Oak (20% new) for 11 months. It’s a big and bold wine that is built for both early drinking and aging.

How to Enjoy

This beautiful Zinfandel can be enjoyed today if you will patiently decant it an hour before drinking. It will also age gracefully for at least a decade from today. It needs nothing but a glass but we love it with grilled, brined, thick-cut pork chops.