Russian River Old Vine Zinfandel

• Vintage: 2021
• Varietal: Zinfandel
• Appellation: Russian River Valley, Sonoma County
• Alcohol: 16.3%

Silk, satin, or velvet—the trouble with this Zinfandel is that it embodies all those textures. It's like putting your palate to sleep on a bed of 500-count Sateen sheets. Then, of course, there's all the fruit. Baked cherry and strawberry-rhubarb pie and spiced plums. Slivers of dark chocolate. Blame the old vine zinfandel vines for the opulence and the Russian River Valley for the freshness imbued by the cool rolling fog that settles over the grapes.

Russian River Valley, Sonoma County

Nestled into rolling hills between the Pacific Ocean and the Sonoma Mountains and forming a kind of triangle shape between the towns of Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, and Occidental, the Russian River Valley is a cool, foggy place most mornings, and then the sun shines down on the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel vines basking in its glow. Established in 1983, this AVA has a rich history of grape growing, dating back to the 19th century when Russian immigrants first planted vines.