J. Wilkes 2014 Zinfandel, Highlands District, Paso Robles

Zin Lovers Alert! The Highlands District AVA in Paso Robles was just granted in 2014. At altitudes of 1,100 to 2,100 feet (the highest in Paso Robles) this remote growing region in the eastern edge of Paso has a diurnal temperature shift from day to night of as much as 50 degrees. That's the highest of any AVA, which mean the grapes mature slowly and evenly retaining the perfect balance while taking on complexity and nuance.

This 2014 Zin from J. Wilkes is all of that. The family behind the J. Wilkes winery owns these and other highly prized vineyards in the Central Coast including the famous Bien Nacido, so they're able to select the most prime fruit for their own wines. Only 200 cases were produced of this handcrafted Zin and it shows all of the intense flavors of dried cherry, plum, raspberry and blackberry along with exotic spices and hints of leather and licorice, while retaining beautiful bright acidity and supple, polished tannins. Best of all because we grabbed the whole lot (what was left of it, anyway) we can offer it to our Wine Express customers at a steep discount. The Zin party begins!!