Maggio Old Vines Zinfandel, 2017

This traditional Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel is deep and rich, with full flavours of ripe black fruit and subtle jam and chocolate overtones. Smooth on the palate with a subtle, smoky finish. 

Meet the maker: Oak Ridge

Region: Lodi, California – USA

Grape(s): Zinfandel (79%), Merlot (10%), Other Varieties (8%), Cabernet Sauvignon (3%)

13.5% ABV / 750ml / Vegetarian / Vegan

Viticulture:

The grapes come from 500 acres of estate vineyards throughout the Lodi American Viticultural Area, which are situated between the Sierra Nevada foothills and the San Francisco Bay.

The area's Mediterranean climate of warm days with coastal evening breezes is ideal for the cultivation of world-class wine grapes.

The vines, some of which are over 100 years old, are gnarled and sculpted by time, yielding small amounts of intensely flavoured fruit to create wines that are the ultimate expression of their terroir.

Winemaking:

The Old Zinfandel grapes were picked at 25-26° Brix, for optimum ripeness, acidity levels and quality.

The grapes were cool fermented at 18-23°C, in order to slowly extract the colour and tannins, while retaining the fresh fruit characters.

Once fermented through to dryness, the grapes were pressed off their skins and allowed to settle prior to racking.

The wine then went through malolactic fermentation, giving the final wine a smooth mouthfeel and softening the finish.

Once complete, a proportion of the wine was matured in various oak treatments for between six months, until it reached the desired profile of oak complexity, while the remainder was stored in stainless steel.

60% of the oak component used was medium to heavy toast American oak and 40% of the oak was medium toast French oak.