2017 Sky Vineyards - Zinfandel Mt. Veeder Napa Valley (750ml)

Lore Olds was a young winemaker at Beaulieu in the 1960s when he fell for the rugged slopes of Mount Veeder, and he bought land there in 1971. Instead of planting fashionable Bordeaux varieties, he chose Zinfandel. Sky Vineyards runs off the grid and is family operated, with Olds’ daughters now handling much of the work, while he still designs a new hand-painted label for each release.

The 2017 Sky Vineyards Zinfandel Mt. Veeder grows at about 2,100 feet, the highest vineyard on the mountain, in shallow red volcanic soil. The terraced vineyard is dry farmed and organic, with cover crops and no irrigation. A hot, dry summer brought the earliest harvest in the estate’s history, hand picked in mid-August, before the October fires burned the family home and part of the vineyard. Grapes are punched down by hand, pressed in an old wooden basket press and aged in old French oak.

Bold and savory, this mountain Zinfandel shows leather, cedar, sweet tobacco and earthy topsoil, with hints of clove and cigar box beneath dark plum and cherry. The palate turns to dark fruit and finishes long, with a touch of cranberry. Acidity and grip give it structure rather than jammy richness, and it has years of life ahead.