Birichino St Georges Zinfandel 2021

This Zinfandel hails from the same venerated vineyard as Birichino's Saint Georges Pinot Noir, Besson's Home Ranch. Planted by an Italian bootlegger in 1922, these ungrafted vines are rooted in granite and sandy loams for optimum growth. Situated at the southern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains with morning and afternoon sun, this vineyard also experiences moderately cool night-time temperatures for full expression and flavour development without requiring increased alcohol content. Yielding just one tonne per acre, these old, own-rooted vines produce juicy fruit with fresh acidity whilst being picked early (13-13.5% potential alcohol) to showcase their nuanced silkiness. In 2020, full maturity was reached at 14.5%, striking a balance between freshness and typicity - still far from any brawny examples of brand Zinfandel!