Zinfandel that dreams of being a blend of Cote Rôtie and Cornas, but can't help loving being in California. That is what happens when you put zinfandel on nonexistent soil and 60 degree slopes. It produces a wine that shows all raspberries, black cherry and spice that a zinfandel has but roasted earth components and spice that only can be found in the syrah of the Northern Rhone. One of the most compelling zinfandels I have ever made.
Another classic in the making. This is actually my favorite Caldwell Vineyard so far. I think it's Syrah purity and the roasted herbs de Provence / blackberry / raspberry combination in the aromatics and flavors that are so exotic and incredibly layered that it's hard to resist.
It's always interesting for us to blend together our different vineyards and see how the combination takes on a life of its own. Every year we select barrels from different cooperages and combine it with our different vineyard sources and every year the flavors profiles vary slightly, but always to make very complex wines with lots of extraction.
Every year this wine seems to get better. In 2003 we started incorporating some of the new French clones that have become available, and the results are in the bottle. Smokey black cherry, roasted earth, hints of raspberry and just a touch of creamy cassis. Every time I try this wine, it causes me to contemplate how great it is to make wine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Like a deep dark secret, this is a mesmerizing wine from the almost midnight black color to the aromatics of blackberry concentrate, wrapped in a caramelized vanilla bean. Although powerful and a bit broad shouldered, it still shows enough finesse that with a few hours of decanting, one could only be astonished by this wine.
Down the street from Arrowhead Mountain, this is also another zinfandel that dreams of being in the Northern Rhône. Grown also in nonexistent soils and 45-50 degree slopes, this wine is more in the line of a blend of Hermitage and Cornas, but screaming to show off its zinfandel heritage. Black cherry, plums, cola and crème de frambois wrapped in a mineral and smoky spice blanket. It's pure decadence.
This is the finest Philary that we have ever produced, although we have much less of it, only 34 cases. Yields were low and the intensity up. To describe this wine, it would have to start with smoky almost inky gamey wild blackberry liqueur that has been immersed with a touch of lavender and black olives. A streak of minerality flows throughout the wine that gives it just the right structure to carry it through one of the most outrageous finishes I have ever had in a syrah.
As with one's child, they change, they want to express themselves a bit differently, become more independent and show what they can do. Isabel is now five and as she has changed, we wanted to let the wine express this also. This year we decided to let the vineyard express itself and produce the wine thus not being held back to making this wine a Zinfandel. A blend varietals from the Rhodes includes old vine Petite Syrah, old vine Zinfandel and the introduction of Syrah has produced a wine that shows the darker side of the Rhodes Vineyard more then ever before. The wine still has that blackberry pie filling in a cinnamon crust, but just a touch more on the wild side. This wine is a true reflection of the wonderment of childhood.
The warm earth, with all its minerals, creates the beginning of an exquisite perfume that becomes immersed in blackberry and boysenberry compote, swirled in smoke and lavender. Full bodied and very intense, this wine show cases the Rockpile signature earth components and the take-no-prisoners black fruit basket. Although powerful, it does show a sense of finesse that carries the wine from the being of the journey to its incredibly long finish.
Amazing aromatics of lavender, violets, black and red fruits with fresh cracked white pepper that soars from the glass. Beautifully concentrated, this opaque purple colored wine is loaded with flavors of red raspberries, black cherries, smoke, olives, white pepper, and crème de cassis.
