2014 Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch | MAGNUM

History
The 2014 vintage was a warm, dry, and excellent vintage--which produced a 2014 Todd Brothers Ranch Zinfandel that is a huge, mouthcoating, lovely wine with a tremendous amount of fruit flavors. Garnering a huge amount of positive press and recognition as one of the best Todd Brothers Zinfandels we’ve ever produced. These stellar 55-year-old head-trained vines in Geyserville consistently pump out some of our best and most long-lived Zinfandel bottlings here at Dashe Cellars.  
The warmth of the vintage clearly is apparent in the wine, since it is very dark with Cabernet-like intensity and structure, but still possesses the balance and sensuous texture of a Zinfandel.  
 

Production
As always, the Todd Brothers Vineyard was one of the earliest ripening and was picked in the first week of September. The grapes were trucked to the winery in 1⁄2 ton picking bins and hand-sorted—to remove any materials other than grapes or less-than-perfect grapes—before the crusher.
The grapes were fermented using the yeasts on the surface of the grapes. This native yeast method maximizes flavor, color, and complexity of the grapes. At dryness, the wine was gently pressed in a membrane press and pumped to 120- and 60-gallon French oak barrels. During the blending, we added a small amount of Petite Sirah for spice and depth of flavor.
 

Tasting Notes:
Color:  Dark red with purple overtones
Aroma:  Cassis, plum, black cherry, earth, chocolate, licorice, with floral notes of lavender and violets.  Spice notes of cedar, eucalyptus, and pepper.
Taste :  A huge mouthful of flavor: lush, round, balanced, with a sensuous mouth-filling texture. Blackberry, black currant, and black cherry fruit, firm acid, and silky tannins in a very structured wine. Long, sweet, fruit finish of blackberry and cassis. One of the best Todd Brothers Zinfandels in years.