2022 Andis - Friedlander Block Reserve Zinfandel (750ml)

Andis Wines was founded in 2009 by husband and wife Andy Friedlander, a Marine Corps veteran who spent decades building Hawaii's largest commercial real estate firm, and Janis Akuna, a longtime financial advisor. The pair discovered Amador County's Shenandoah Valley after growing disillusioned with an increasingly crowded Napa, and set out to build a modern winery on land planted to old-vine Zinfandel decades earlier, with the estate's name formed by combining their own.

The Friedlander Block comes from the winery's own property, where gnarled Zinfandel vines close to fifty years old grow at roughly 1,500 feet in ancient granite soil. This high-altitude site brings natural concentration and structure to the fruit. The wine is aged for 18 months in a mix of barrels, mostly seasoned French oak with a smaller portion of new French and Austrian oak, and only a few hundred cases are produced each vintage.

Deep purple in the glass, the wine offers Damson plum, black cherry, and herbal notes layered with violet and tobacco. The palate is lush and juicy, framed by silky tannins and a long, vibrant finish. Pour it with barbecued ribs, a wild boar ragu, or aged cheddar.