Wine Article
2018 Ridge Zinfandel Buchignani Ranch
Last edited on 2/4/2023 by ancientvines
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Wine Information
80% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane
*Members-only release. Learn more about our ATP membership program.
Vintage
2018
Vineyard
Buchignani Ranch
Appellation
Alexander Valley
Alcohol By Volume
14.6%
Winemaker Tasting Notes
Elegant nose of raspberry, cranberry, pipe tobacco and wild fennel. Hints of black cherry, sarsaparilla, plum and black tea meet exquisite structure and well-integrated tannins on the palate. SR (11/22)
Vintage Notes
2018 marks the twentieth year that we have made wine from this old vine vineyard. Lower yields meant greater concentration of fruit, color and tannin. To prevent over- extraction, we fermented half the grapes with a submerged cap. Twenty percent carignane brings lively acidity to the ripe zinfandel. This well balanced wine is enjoyable upon release. It will age elegantly over the next eight to nine years. JO (3/20)
History
This wine comes from a small planting of old-vine zinfandel on the Buchignani Ranch on Dutcher Creek Road in the hills north of Dry Creek Valley (carignane planted on the rest of the ranch provides a separate ATP selection). The zinfandel block, approximately five acres in size, was planted in the 1940s and ’50s on a rocky knoll overlooking the family home.
Growing Season
Rainfall: 25 inches (below normal)
Bloom: May
Weather: Rains were light this year, totalling 25 inches. Rainfall in April and May helped the vines get through the summer.
Winemaking
Harvest Dates: 6 – 11 September
Grapes: Average Brix 25.4˚
TA: 5.54 g/L
pH: 3.78
Fermentation: Grapes fermented on the naturally-occuring yeasts. Pressed at ten days. Full malolactic carried out without inoculation.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (20% new, 30% one to two years old, 50% three to four years old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel
Hand-harvested; sustainably farmed, estate-grown grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the indigenous yeast, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 78 ppm during aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.
80% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane
*Members-only release. Learn more about our ATP membership program.
Vintage
2018
Vineyard
Buchignani Ranch
Appellation
Alexander Valley
Alcohol By Volume
14.6%
Winemaker Tasting Notes
Elegant nose of raspberry, cranberry, pipe tobacco and wild fennel. Hints of black cherry, sarsaparilla, plum and black tea meet exquisite structure and well-integrated tannins on the palate. SR (11/22)
Vintage Notes
2018 marks the twentieth year that we have made wine from this old vine vineyard. Lower yields meant greater concentration of fruit, color and tannin. To prevent over- extraction, we fermented half the grapes with a submerged cap. Twenty percent carignane brings lively acidity to the ripe zinfandel. This well balanced wine is enjoyable upon release. It will age elegantly over the next eight to nine years. JO (3/20)
History
This wine comes from a small planting of old-vine zinfandel on the Buchignani Ranch on Dutcher Creek Road in the hills north of Dry Creek Valley (carignane planted on the rest of the ranch provides a separate ATP selection). The zinfandel block, approximately five acres in size, was planted in the 1940s and ’50s on a rocky knoll overlooking the family home.
Growing Season
Rainfall: 25 inches (below normal)
Bloom: May
Weather: Rains were light this year, totalling 25 inches. Rainfall in April and May helped the vines get through the summer.
Winemaking
Harvest Dates: 6 – 11 September
Grapes: Average Brix 25.4˚
TA: 5.54 g/L
pH: 3.78
Fermentation: Grapes fermented on the naturally-occuring yeasts. Pressed at ten days. Full malolactic carried out without inoculation.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (20% new, 30% one to two years old, 50% three to four years old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel
Hand-harvested; sustainably farmed, estate-grown grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the indigenous yeast, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 78 ppm during aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.