Birichino Saint Georges Zinfandel 2021

Birichino Saint Georges Zinfandel is a Zinfandel from own-rooted vines planted in 1922 in the Santa Clara Valley.

El Carnicero, the butcher, is what the crew call Alex Krause, and the Besson Zinfandel block is the reason. He walks it repeatedly through the season, cutting out anything underripe or raisined, and can lose up to eighty per cent of the crop doing it. He calls Zinfandel a miserable grape, only half joking, and now makes three of them. The vines were reportedly planted by an Italian bootlegger in 1922, ungrafted, in granite and sandy loam. Sun all day and unusually cool nights off the Pacific let flavour build without alcohol running away, and yields sit around a tonne to the acre. The cool, even 2021 season reached balance at 13.5 per cent in late October.

Bramble, black tea, plum and a bitter Fernet-like twist, with saline freshness and savoury grip that has nothing to do with the big-shouldered end of Zinfandel. Serve at 16 degrees. Pork ribs, grilled sausages, or a mushroom pizza.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.