Elyse 2013 Zinfandel, Korte Ranch, Napa Valley

Started back in 1987, with 286 cases of Zinfandel from the Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford. Sincethen, Elyse has blossomed into a portfolio of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirahs focused on pure expression of fruit with a sense of place. Robert Parker said about Elyse “This excellent winery continues to carve out a well-deserved reputation for its interesting red wine portfolio… [Elyse] is an under-the-radar, high quality producer.” Their focus is on single vineyard Napa Valley reds like this remarkable Zinfandel sourced from the Korte Ranch in St. Helena.

Korte Ranch is truly one of the most distinctive and classic Zinfandel vineyards left in Napa Valley with gnarly old head trained vines a minimum of 70 years old. It has been family owned for four generations and al dry farmed.

This wine from the excellent 2013 vintage is 89% Zinfandel and 11% Petite Sirah, Carignane, Valdiguié, and Grand Noir. It fermented 14 days on native yeast and was aged 10-1/2 months in 25% new American oak barrels.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine scored it 90 points and said “From a ranch planted many decades ago, this wine includes mixed blacks such as Grand Noir and Carignane, adding juicy red and black fruit to the mix. Smoke, cinnamon and leather highlights are kept firm by an integrated tannic structure.”

We managed to get our hands on a small quantity of this outstanding boutique Zin and are offering it on sale at a deep discount to our Wine Express customers. Don’t miss it.