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Rocky Road Zinfandel 2010
Tasting Note
A fruit box of lifted aromas jumps from the glass at first sniff and is followed by blackberries, raisins and a handful of cranberries tempered with more savoury hints of black olives and anise. This is a flirty fruit-driven wine possessing perky purple fruits framedby fine grained tannins, finishing with great line and length.
THE SEASON
With El Nino has come a progressively reduced rainfall. Spring has been a little wetter and summer has had more temperature extremes. In 2009 spring was again wet and blustery and shaping to be something like 2008. But a heat spike in January 2010 with a week of 35 degree+ brought whites into line quickly and within an instant they were coming off earlier than average. Reds drew out as things cooled off heading into March. Patience to get tannin ripeness in reds proved dividends though an early break to the season with rainfall had us on the edge of our seats.
VINEYARDS
Fruit is sourced from the Rocky Road vineyard which lies in the headwaters of the Chapman Brook, near Witchcliffe in the south of the Margaret River region. With a northerly aspect, the vines enjoy long days of sunshine, moderated by the vineyard's southern location. All vines on the McHenry Hohnen vineyards are grown on a single bilateral cordon with a vertically trained canopy. It is a simple and practical format that maximises light penetration and maintains a balanced vine.
VINIFICATION
The family has been involved with zinfandel since the variety was first introduced to the region in 1972. The mother vines were imported from California, originating from a vineyard in Lodi. Judging perfect ripeness is the only difficult winemaking decision due to the uneven ripening of bunches a habit which is peculiar to this variety. From the point of harvest, winemaking is simple. The grapes are fermented in small open-top vats and plunged for colour, flavour and tannin extraction. Towards completion of the primary fermentation the skins are pressed and the wine is run to barrel for finishing and maturation. The wine is bottled in late summer prior to the next vintage.
Alcohol: 14.5%
pH: 3.52
Acidity: .62
Residual Sugar: 0.7
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Rock Road Vinyard Zinfandel 2010.pdf
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