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Wine Recommendation
Storybook Mountain Vineyards
2003 Eastern Exposures Zinfandel, Estate(Napa Valley)
The affable, easy going Jerry Seps, a cross between salt of the earth farmer and erudite professor, and his wife Sigrid, named their winery in honor of the founders, the Brothers Grimm of fairy tale fame.
On a Mayacamas range knoll surrounded by red clay-loam hillsides first planted to Zinfandel in the 1880’s, this bucolic winery is one of the few remaining sources of ungrafted plant material, much of it on St. George rather than the UC Davis recommended AXR1, which fell prey to phylloxera all over the valley.
Zinfandel is their specialty, much of it old vine, organically farmed, and crafted in a traditional “claret” or restrained, food friendly style. This benchmark wine is deep and smoky with raspberry, cherry, and cranberry notes, a subtle, elegant palate and a long, flavorful finish. Old vine intensity and complexity come out as the wine opens in the glass or decanter (or with age in the cellar). This is a serious wine with staying power, and a fine partner at the dinner table, even with dishes of great finesse and nuance. Demonstrating the potential of the humble Zinfandel to the world at large, the wine is a fairy tale in its own right!
Reviewed December 14, 2006 by Catherine Fallis.
Other reviewed wines from Storybook Mountain Vineyards
The Wine
Winery: Storybook Mountain Vineyards |
The Reviewer
Catherine Fallis
Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |