1980 Montelena Estate Zinfandel
Winemaker's Notes
1980 is beginning to be recognized as one of the finest red wine vintages California has ever had. The vines produced buds two weeks early and had a long, cool growing season that resulted in concentrated varietal character. In mid-September, a sudden heat wave sent the sugars rocketing upward and the picking began at a furious rate.
Vintage Weather
Hot. Coolest growing season on record, but heat wave at crush ripened grapes nicely. Intense, well-balanced fruit. Great potential on these wines.
Tasting Notes
The intensity and high character of this, our first estate bottled Zinfandel, speaks eloquently of the vintage. It is a wine of rich, ruby red color with an overwhelming heady aroma unique to Zinfandel. It has a distinctly briary, black cherry bouquet concentrated in a wine of very fruity flavors, medium body, and moderate tannin, along with an earthy undertone derived from the sloped, stony vineyards of Montelena. Given a year of oak aging in small French barrels, it has obtained a suppleness that is surprising in a wine this big. The 1980 Zinfandel is just beginning to round out after another year in the bottle and will continue to improve over the next three to five years.
Bo Barrett, Winemaker
Technical Data:
| Harvest Dates: | Oct. 9, 1980 |
| Bottling Date: | June1982 |
| Release Date: | March 1983 |
| Appellation: | Napa Valley |
| Time in Oak: | 12 months |
| Sugar at Harvest: | 24.3º brix |
| Alcohol: | 14.4% |
| Total Acidity: | .70g/100ml |
