2021 Pioneer Cuvée

Estate Blend

The estate vineyard has a Zinfandel block that is 100% Zinfandel and we also have additional blocks of Petite sirah (known for color and structure) and Grenache (known for good acidity and heat tolerance) and this was done to make my best selling GSP wine. In years when we have a good crop in our Grenache (it is very susceptible to poor fruit set when conditions during flowering are not optimal) there is enough wine to also make my “Pioneer Cuvée”, a tribute to these old vineyards of California. This is the first since 2018 and the base wines were made separately, then the blend was put together after 6 months in barrel following blending trials and then put back to barrel for another 5 months of aging.             

This wine shows the bright raspberry fruit notes of Zinfandel, coupled with the structure of Petite sirah, and kept fresh with the contributions of Grenache. I strongly recommend this wine with any grilled foods over Summer, and it should keep its fruit and intensity for another 3-5 years if you have patience and cellaring space. I think it is a lovely tribute to those old pioneers in the California wine industry who worked so hard to establish this wine region