 Clockspring Vineyard, Amador County |
The Z-52 Agnes' Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel ($16), grown on the outskirts of Lodi, is adjacent to some of the oldest Zinfandel plantings in California. (Many, in fact, were planted by European immigrants such as the vineyard's 94-year-old namesake Agnes Schroeder.) Dry-farmed and head-pruned, the Agnes' Vineyard yields a lush Zinfandel that's aged in French and American oak. The sandy clay loam soils, warm days and cool evening breezes of Lodi result in an approachable wine concentrated with flavors of blackberry and raspberry and tempered with hints of anise and black pepper.
The organically farmed Clockspring Vineyard in Amador County's Shenandoah Valley, named for a retired cattle brand once used on the property, is the source for the Z-52 Clockspring Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel ($20). Known for its relatively high, fog-free elevation and soils of decomposed granite, this Sierra Foothills vineyard produces deeply colored Zinfandels, rich with flavors of black cherry, earth, and spice.