Nose
An elegant, concentrated and powerful Zinfandel. Lifted aromas of rose petals, musk sticks
black cherries vanilla beans, cedar and mixed spice. A layered and expressive nose.
Palate
A rich, soft, rounded Zinfandel. Ripe cherry, plums, chocolate lead the way with the florals
and confectionery notes to follow. Wonderful balance of fruit and oak complexity. Long soft finish.
Growing Conditions
2016 was a tough vintage, with above average spring rains and heavy downpours in February
and March making grape growing challenging. The day before we harvest all fruit not deemed
good enough is removed from the vine by our team of highly trained viticulturists. The next day 40
hand-pickers come out and all remaining fruit is selected for ripeness and then harvested. Every
single picking bin is then inspected in the vineyard by the winemaker to ensure adequate ripeness
and sanitation. Zinfandel is a difficult variety to grow, and these selection techniques are vital for the
future quality of the wine. The Zinfandel harvest was the smallest ever at Churchview, with only 40%
of the typical crop being hand selected by the harvest crew before being sorted again at the winery.
Winemaking
The fruit is crushed and inoculated with a Champagne yeast strain (the Champagne yeast can
handle higher alcohols and adds very little flavour - Zinfandel has enough!) Ripeness was optimum
and the flavour and tannin balance were perfect. The wine was then pressed and the hearts were
transferred into brand new French and American hogs heads and barriques. The balance was
transferred into stainless steel. Careful ferment management and selected press fractions allowed the
winemaking team to select only the finest sections of the wine to be matured in oak. After the wine
was settled for 4 weeks it was transferred into one, two and three year old French and American
barrels for twenty four months maturation. Every rack and return had a “selection” done, and the
best barrels were reduced to become the St Johns. Nothing is added to the wine until two weeks
before bottling when very low levels of sulphur are added to ensure the wine is stable and remains
fresh. As with all our St Johns wines this is a clean and natural wine.
The 2009, and 2014 are two really great examples of our Zinfandel. Tasting the 2010 recently
this wine has also developed into a beauty. The 2015 has a level of even ripeness on the nose and
the palate, it is ripe, fresh, balanced and layered. This 2016 is the most balanced we have made
without over ripe highlights, this Zinfandel is stylish.
Appearance
COLOUR Deep ruby.
