The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Rockpile

Varietal   Zinfandel

Retail Price   $65

ABV   14.8%

Score   4.5 Stars/96 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, dark ruby/purple color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of cassis, cinnamon, and baking spices with supporting notes of black currant, black tea, cigar box, and slate.

The palate echoes the nose delivering a black fruit-driven core with flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, graphite, and black plum. The finish is long and lingering with ripe tannins.

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with an opulent 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 107 cases made from a select spot in one of the greatest Zinfandel vineyards on the planet.

Analysis

We are thrilled to see another (our second look) vintage from We Know Jack! 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. The drought continued in 2022 and created very intense wines like this one. It’s a classic, old-school field-type blend of 93% Zinfandel with 7% Petite Sirah co-fermented and aged in French Oak (25% new) for 11 months. It’s even more harmonious and texturally pleasing than last year and that’s saying something.

How to Enjoy

This beautiful Zinfandel can be enjoyed today or in a decade (it's drinking surprisingly well today). It needs nothing but a glass but we love it with the grilled chop of your choice.