Our Keyhole Ranch estate vineyard in Russian River Valley boasts a unique microclimate that is tempered by the cool climate. Its aroma of vanilla, plum, baking spice, and heather offers a complex and layered experience. On the palate, briary red raspberry flavors add to the wine’s juicy, supple, and vibrant character.
The wine’s rich profile includes the same flavors found on the nose, making it a well-crafted and complex wine that pairs perfectly with hearty dishes from grilled leg of lamb to cannellini bean cassoulet with fennel sausage, pancetta and smoked pork shanks.
Our Keyhole Ranch estate vineyard, previously a predominately white wine growing site, is now comfortably home to Zinfandel vines showcasing that Zinfandel can thrive and flourish in this unique microclimate, the Russian River Valley. The tempered, cool coastal breezes combined with frequent summer-morning fog create a wine with complex, spicy, vibrant blackberry and briary flavors.
The grapes were harvested by hand and sorted to ensure uniformly ripened fruit is delivered to the winery. After being lightly crushed they were fermented in small open-top stainless-steel tanks and mixed using pneumatic punch down devices to facilitate extraction and pumped over to allow for gentle aeration. Free-run wine is drained to barrel after 8 to 12 days on skins and allowed to complete alcoholic fermentation and undergo malolactic conversion. The wines are allowed to evolve for 10 months in barrel prior to blending and returned to barrel to integrate for 5 more months prior to bottling. Aged 15 months in 12% New Oak (4% French, 8% American). The grapes were harvested between September 1st and September 27th, 2021.