Grgich Hills Zinfandel 2016

Cellar for up to 10 years. No need to decant before serving.

Miljenko "Mike" Grgich occupies an honoured place amongst Napa’s top winemakers thanks to his work with Chateau Montelena in the 1970s. At the famous Judgement of Paris blind tasting competition the Chardonnay he had made for Chateau Montelena was selected as the finest white wine by the panel of French wine experts. This result was astounding since this Californian wine had beaten many of Burgundy’s finest white wines and proven that America could also produce exceptional wines.

Grgich Hills today has five exceptional vineyards which provide the fruit for all of its wines. To produce the best quality wines possible biodynamic and organic methods are used in the vineyards and in the winery there is a tradition of minimal intervention. This includes using indigenous yeasts for the fermentation and vinifying each lot separately to allow the terroir to shine through and inform their blending decisions.

The estate’s Zinfandel is sourced from the warmest of their vineyards in Calistoga and is co-fermented with a small amount of Petite Sirah to add extra complexity. The wine is then aged in large French oak casks to avoid overwhelming the varietal character. The result is a powerful yet balanced Zinfandel with ample dark fruit character and subtle spicy hints from the oak.