Hawley Zinfandel 2008, Ponzo Vineyard, Russian River Valley

Vineyards

Ponzo vineyard is located just outside the town limits of Healdsburg, along the Russian River at the mouth of Dry Creek. It’s gravelly bench-lands have produced many award winning wines. The 2008 growing season was exceptionally long, with grapes not reaching ripness untill well into October! (Usually we harvest in September). The long “hang time” allowed for the development of exceptional flavors in the 2008 Zinfandel. Brix at harvest 25.5.

Winemaking

The Zinfandel grapes were crushed and de-stemmed into one-ton, open top fermentors. The juice was chilled extended maceration. After one week, the fermentors were moved outdoors to warm up and the wild yeasts begun the fermentation. Commercial yeast was later added to control the fermentation. We punched down the skins every couple hours to maximize extraction. When fermentation was nearing dryness we pressed out directly to barrels. The wine was aged for nine months in a mixture of French and American oak barrels and was racked from barrel to barrel every three months to soften the tannins, develop fruit character and clarify the wine. 5% Petite Sirah from Dry Creek Valley was blended before bottling.

Technical

Appellation: Sonoma County, Ponzo Vineyard
Varietal Composition: 95% Zinfandel 5% Petite Sirah
Harvest Date: October, 2008
Alcohol: 15.1%
Bottling Date: December  2009
Cases Bottled: 440
Release Date: Jan 1, 2010

Tasting Notes

This Zinfandel is soft and juicy with flavors of raspberries and strawberries with notes of white pepper and vanilla oak.