Ask The Mirror First
TASTING NOTES: “It opens with bold aromas of boysenberry syrup, fresh plum, and a hint of wintergreen. Earthy notes of wild mushrooms and forest floor add depth to the fruit-forward profile. On the palate, this Zinfandel is rich and velvety, with a lingering finish that showcases its vibrant acidity and well-integrated tannins. A wine of great concentration and balance, it promises to evolve beautifully over the next 5 to 7 years. The 2022 growing season was blessed by late winter rains that replenished our soil moisture as the vines emerged from dormancy. A cold spring led to a slower start for the vines, but we avoided any frost danger. Summer growing conditions were exceptional, with consistent weather and blue skies ushering in a Goldilocks summer that was not too hot and not too cold. We are thrilled with the quality of the grapes from the outstanding 2022 vintage.” (AbV 14.8%)
VARIETALS: Zinfandel
BARRELS: French and American oak barrels.
PAIRS WITH: a porcini mushroom lasagna, where the wine’s bold fruit and earthy notes will harmonize beautifully with the layers of creamy bechamel, pasta, and rich mushrooms. It also pairs wonderfully with roasted meats or wild game highlighting the wine’s robust character
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Black glass.
Obsidian is just really fast lava — cooled so quickly the atoms never had time to arrange themselves into crystals, so you get glass instead of rock. Humans have been making tools out of it since basically forever because it fractures into edges sharper than surgical steel (some actual surgeons still use obsidian scalpels for the cleanest possible incision). But my favorite use of the stuff has nothing to do with cutting anything.
There’s a small polished obsidian mirror sitting in the British Museum that once belonged to the Elizabethan astrologer and royal advisor John Dee, who used it to try to talk to angels. It’s Aztec in origin — black glass mirrors were used in Mesoamerican ritual for divination long before Dee got his hands on one via a wandering merchant. Staring into a piece of cooled volcanic glass to summon spirits feels like exactly the kind of thing a guy who also cast horoscopes for Queen Elizabeth I would be into.
I don’t have an angel-summoning mirror, but I do have a glass of something dark enough to stare into and wonder what it’s going to tell me in five to seven years.
PRODUCER PODCAST: Benessere Black Glass Zinfandel (1:25)
ICYMI, you have two choices:
Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from this sale, the page you’re on right now, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year (October)!
Want Protected Summer Shipping and don’t think heat will be a problem? Order from the sale linked here ! We’ll still try to get them to you with as little travel time as we can.
Some places get absurdly hot during the Summer, and in particularly unpleasant circumstances, it can damage a wine. Most people get theirs no problem, but there are a couple each Summer that fall victim to the sun no matter how fast we get them to you. If you’ve experienced that before or are afraid it’ll happen to you, we’ll hold your order for you until October, if you order from the Summer Hold sale. We are reasonably sure things will be cooler then.
