After tasting some delicious white wines, we were ready for what the Dry Valley AVA is best known for – Zinfandel! Tasting room manager Eddie presented these tastes in a side-by-side format.
We started with the 2023 Briar Zinfandel and the 2023 Sullivan Zinfandel, also from the Dry Creek Valley.
The Briar has 9% Petite Sirah. It had delicious cherry and chocolate notes and velvety tannins. Very well rounded with cherry and chocolate notes and a long finish, this wine won Best of Class at the recent Sonoma Country Harvest Fair.
The Sullivan has 5% Petite Sirah and spent 18 months in French Oak. It showed beautiful pomegranate and red currant on the nose and on the palate.
Next we tasted two of Mazzocco’s reserve Zinfandel bottlings from 2023 – the Seaton (5% Petite Sirah) and the Aguilera Old Vine (9% Petite Sirah), both also from the Dry Creek Valley.
The Seaton Reserve showed rich plum in both color and taste, with a medium to long finish and smooth tannins. These vines were planted in 1965.
The Aguilera Old Vine Reserve was deep, dark purple in color. It had notes of blackberry and dried plum with hints of cherry and cranberry and a lengthy, luscious finish from vines planted in 1953.
We then took a small step back in time to try of couple of Zinfandels from 2022, both again from the Dry Creek Valley AVA – the West Dry Creek Reserve and the Juan Rodriguez Reserve.
The West Dry Creek Reserve is 100% Zinfandel and was deep violet in color with a pop of ripe plum and dark stone fruits with a full and lasting finish.
The Juan Rodriguez Reserve is part of Mazzocco’s Tres Amigos Collection. This wine honors Mazzocco’s long time vineyard manager – the other two “amigos” are named after owner Kenneth Wilson and winemaker Antoine Favero. A blend of 85% Zinfandel, 11% Primitivo and 4% Petite Sirah, this wine was jammy and fruit-forward with hints of cocoa, tobacco, cinnamon and vanilla. Very complex, integrated and intricate with an exquisite and sumptuous finish.
Our final tastes were actually a side-by-side-by-side tasting of Mazzocco’s Triptych Series of 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – just because Antoine makes great Zinfandel doesn’t mean it’s all he does well! We tasted the 2022 Aviation (100% Cabernet Sauvignon), Chango (with 5% Merlot), and Signature (with 5% Petit Verdot), all with Sonoma Country AVAs.
The Aviation showed deep black cherry fruit with a very slight whiff of mint on finish and a medium to full mouthfeel.
The Chango had nice clean fruit, with milk chocolate notes on the palate and also a medium to full mouth feel.
The Signature was full-bodied with blueberry and blackberry notes. Rich prolonged finish and a full mouthfeel along with firm tannins and refreshing acidity show why this won Gold at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The Signature label has Antoine’s signature and includes a stylized drawing of the winemaker himself.
Although our tasting was technically finished, when we saw they had a 2024 Rosé of Zinfandel, we asked for a taste. Tastings often start with Rosé but having it at the end made it a great palate brightener. It was dry with pale pink rose petals on the palate and nose. Well-structured and absolutely refreshing.
Our week was off to a great start. The wines that Antoine and his team craft at Mazzocco Sonoma are truly incredible. We were looking forward to seeing how the other wineries we were visiting would stack up. Antoine asked if we had time to squeeze in one more visit at the end of the week. We never say “no” to Antoine; we knew it would be something special. What was it? You’ll just have to continue reading our reports/reviews to find out. It will be worth it.
Wilson Artisan Wineries – A family of boutique wineries in Northern California
1400 Lytton Springs Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.
