The Story
A promise made in 1995
In 1995 I walked into ZinEx in San Francisco and fell in love with Zinfandel: the energy of the winemakers, the taste of place in every glass. I promised myself that one day I would make my own.
It took more than twenty years, a business lost in France and six years away from wine. This bottle is that promise, kept.
The Vineyard
135 years in Dry Creek Valley
The Buchignani vineyard sits in Dry Creek Valley, one of the best places in the world to grow Zinfandel. Summer days reach 100°F; nights fall to 52°F. The heat builds ripeness and body; the cool nights keep the wine layered and alive.
The vines average 85 years old and are dry-farmed, so they find their own water deep in the soil. That makes for small crops and intense fruit. In 2018, while smoke from wildfires touched other parts of wine country, Dry Creek was spared, and the grapes came in perfect.
The People
The family who kept the vines
The Buchignani family first planted this vineyard 135 years ago and has farmed it ever since. Old vines like these survive only when someone refuses to pull them out for something easier and more productive. This family refused, generation after generation.
I made the wine in a cave in the heart of Sonoma Valley with as little intervention as possible, then let it rest three years in old American barrels before bottling in August 2021.
From a 2024 virtual tasting with Crush Wine Experiences.
The Experience
When I'd open this bottle
This is not a Tuesday-night wine. At 17.3% with natural sweetness from the grapes, it's opulent, almost port-like: blackberry, ripe cherry, chocolate, tobacco and licorice, with a touch of allspice and cedar, and a finish that goes on and on.
- At the end of a long dinner with friends, instead of a dessert wine.
- With chocolate, blue cheese, or anything spicy.
- Served slightly cool, around 60–64°F, in a big glass.
From a 2024 virtual tasting with Crush Wine Experiences.
“Everything about this wine is intense. That's exactly why I made it.”