2021 Stuhlmuller - Zinfandel Alexander Valley Estate (750ml)

The Stuhlmuller family has farmed in southern Alexander Valley since the early 1980s, first selling fruit to neighbors such as Silver Oak and Simi before Fritz Stuhlmuller launched his own label in the mid-1990s. Their 150-acre, certified sustainable estate borders the Russian River, with alluvial gravel benchlands and rockier hillsides.

This Zinfandel comes from two hillside blocks planted with budwood from the 120-year-old Teldeschi selection of Dry Creek Valley and head pruned to intensify the fruit. A cool, mild 2021 season followed by an August heat spell brought a slightly early harvest, with the Zinfandel picked on September 9. The wine is 91 percent Zinfandel, co-fermented with 9 percent Petite Sirah as whole berries in open-top stainless steel tanks with a 17-day maceration. It spent 16 months in half French and half American oak, 20 percent new, and was bottled unfined at 15 percent alcohol. Just 220 cases were made.

Brilliant dark ruby in color, it offers black cherry, boysenberry, and cocoa powder, layered with allspice, cardamom, and white pepper. The rich, velvety palate balances red and dark berry flavors with fresh acidity, and dried flowers, vanilla, and oak spice linger on an energetic finish.