Storybook Mountain Eastern Exposures Zinfandel 2016
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This special cuvee is presented to show just how elegant, fragrant and balanced Napa hillside Zinfandels can be. It is a step beyond vineyard designation, and represents style as much as place. It is the balance and finesse of east facing vineyards that give the wine its name. The selection criteria emphasize aroma, middle-palate and finish – berries with hints of flowers, minerals and spice in the aroma; multi-layered and rich flavor on the broad and supple middle palate; and an intense, clean and lingering impression on the finish. A touch of Viognier is added to enhance the intriguingly exotic and sensual quality of this very special wine.
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Wine & Spirits
You can taste the cool morning sun in this wine. Set aside the ideal conditions for zinfandel the red volcanic soils on a steep hillside facing northeast, and the care with which Jerry Seps selected the vines and tends them. Forget the crunchy apple and blue berry skin briskness of the tannins, and the black-raspberry and blackberry richness of the fruit. And just consider that after tasting more than a hundred wines over the course of two days, this is where I wrote, “I want to drink this.”
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Very much adhering to the winery style of making Zinfandels that aim for structure and balance more than sweet and flashy fruit, the latest Eastern Exposures bottling is a deep, but relatively tight, well-measured wine that exhibits a good bit of still-nascent complexity. It is, as usual, a solidly varietal effort that categorically demands age, and hurried drinking will not allow it to reveal all that it is. Put it aside for at least three to five years, but know that the far smarter choice is to wait for a half-dozen or more.
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Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.