2018 Peterson Old School Zinfandel, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Vivid ripe red berry aromatics burst on the nose as traces of white flowers and sarsaparilla add complexity. A full, rich entry reveals blackberry mingled with raspberry and pomegranate. Bright acidity bathes the palate balancing the juicy fruit essence, while toasty oak and hints of black pepper, brown spices and floral notes add interest and depth. The lush intense flavors fuse near the finish as the wine lingers.
This is the perfect Zin to pair with Italian braised pork shoulder ragu, or a meat lover’s pizza.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Old School is sometimes described as our “Easy Drinking, No Thinking” Zin, but don’t let that make you think it’s any less serious of a wine than our other bottlings.
After nearly ten years putting together a value priced Zin blend from various Sonoma County grapes, our friend and grower in Mendocino, Alvin Tollini, let us know he had a mature Zinfandel vineyard coming available, and would we be interested in the fruit. We took the opportunity to create a new wine in our line of Tollini Vineyard offerings that would showcase what juicy Zin grapes from the hills of Mendocino’s Redwood Valley could produce.
Old School has a style that is full of flavor and character, but not over the top. We want a wine that is refreshing and “highly drinkable” and satisfying. The type of Zin you can either open on a weeknight or take to a party without hesitation. One you can think about and savor…but you really don’t have to. By blending in percentages of Petite Sirah and Carignane, we complement the fruit and jam of the Zin with structure, balance and spice, without overwhelming the singular terroir of this special place.
Specs
Varietal Breakdown | Harvest Dates:
89% Zinfandel | Sept. 28 & Oct. 4
7% Petite Sirah | Oct. 17
4% Carignane | Oct. 19
Vineyard: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Alcohol: 14.1%
pH: 3.42
TA: 0.65g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 20 months
Cooperage: 10% new American oak barrels
90% 4-10 year-old neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: July 21, 2020 (unfined & unfiltered)
This Mendo Blendo vintage packs a punch, or maybe it’s more of a muley kick. Deep intense aromatics of black plum and ripe blackberry mingle with traces of fine herbs, black pepper and forest floor. From the first sip, the concentrated dark flavors deliver a wow factor. The structure envelopes the chewy flavors of black raspberry and wild plum. Spicy pepper and cedar appear mid-palate and linger as the wine satiates the senses.
Not for the faint of heart, this wine deserves an equally hearty pairing. Try it with an all-meat pizza with extra cheese, or chorizo bison chili with smoky paprika added to spice it up.
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View
Our Mendo Blendo reflects the two realities inherent in all interesting wines: place and people. The place being Mendocino County and the people (besides Jamie and myself) being Alvin and Sally Tollini, who grew the grapes that produced this wine. Though we would never trade living in and producing wines from Dry Creek Valley, I’ve always enjoyed Mendocino County, its people, and its wines.
Mendocino County winegrowing is an important part of my history. I began my winegrowing career in December 1973 as a vineyard worker for Frey Vineyards in Mendocino’s Redwood Valley. We began producing our Zero Manipulation wine from the Tollini’s Home Ranch “Wild Vines” Carignane in 2000, and have produced it every year since. Alvin Tollini is a third-generation Redwood Valley grower and a wonderful person, as well as an exceptional grape grower.
When Alvin offered us some of his Petite Sirah grapes, we were excited to produce a wine with the Tollini Mendocino Petite Sirah at its core. With 58% Petite Sirah along with 21% Syrah, 14% Grenache and 7% Carignane—all from Tollini Vineyard—we couldn’t legally call the wine a Petite Sirah, but wanted to come up with a fun name to reflect its origins. The name Mendo Blendo is our wink and a nod to Mendocino’s other agricultural crop of note.
Specs
Composition: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Varietal Breakdown | Harvest Dates:
58% Petite Sirah | September 22
21% Syrah | September 14
14% Grenache | October 2
7% Carignane | October 1
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino County
Alcohol: 14.8%
pH: 3.44
TA: 0.67g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 24 months
Cooperage: 16% new American oak barrels, 8% 2-year-old Hungarian oak barrels, 76% neutral old barrels
2019 Peterson Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino County
Tasting Notes
The depth and intensity start with the nose as concentrated spicy aromatics of vine ripened blackberry and a brambly herbal quality appear. The focused intensity repeats on the palate where savory spices weave through black cherry, huckleberry, black raspberry, plum and pomegranate, while traces of dried sage and oolong tea enhance the wine’s depth. Robust yet so drinkable, this brawny beast will soon be a go-to favorite.
Delicious with a grilled skirt steak with pesto butter and fresh gnocchi, or braised lamb shanks with fresh rosemary served with oven-roasted baby red potatoes.
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View
Long time Peterson wine devotees might fondly recall the original Peterson Barbera that we produced from 1994 through 1998. The grapes came from a small block of Barbera that I planted in 1989 on the “bench” overlooking our red barn winery on the Norton Ranch. Though we never produced much of this Barbera, it was a wine we loved to grow and make (as well as drink), and it developed a fervent following among our customers.
Over the last 20-plus years working with Alvin Tollini, I’ve come to respect his abilities as a grower and the suitability of his properties for producing intense, yet balanced red wines. When Alvin mentioned to me that he had a field on “Granddad’s Ranch” that he was ready to plant, I immediately thought of Barbera. I believed the site’s gravelly, well-drained red clay soil could produce a worthy successor to the Norton Ranch Barbera.
The 2019 is our tenth vintage from this block. As a 100% varietal from Tollini Vineyard, it truly showcases what the grape is capable of when grown in the right location. This wine hits the high notes, with power and depth behind it, and a purity and clarity one would expect from this ancient varietal. Salute!
Specs
Composition: 100% Barbera
Vineyard: Tollini Vineyard
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Harvest Date: September 28, 2019
Alcohol: 16.3%
pH: 3.25
TA: 0.75g/100mL
Barrel Aging: 22 months
Cooperage: 100% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: July 20, 2021 (unfined & unfiltered)
2019 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Tasting Notes
Its name belies the sophistication of this delicious Rhône blend. The nose offers a medley of dark fruit and berries laced with traces of earthy minerality and subtle oak notes. The light entry quickly fills the palate with layers of rich, dark, juicy flavors — black raspberry, mulberry, plum and cherry with a sprinkling of cocoa powder. Hints of dried strawberry and eucalyptus make a brief appearance toward the long finish, adding interest and depth.
Enjoy a bottle with an artisan cheese platter, chicken street tacos, or pulled pork sliders with your favorite barbecue sauce and a side of slaw.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Our Zero Manipulation is blended using 100% Tollini Vineyard fruit, and is the first in our line of wines honoring this great vineyard and farmer/friend to the north. We’ve produced Zero every year since 2000 using old vine Carignane as the dominant varietal, and in 2019 it makes up 79% of the blend. From this core of spicy, zippy red fruit flavors, we’ve added layers of depth, complexity and balance with Petite Sirah and Syrah. Our goal in the blend is to create a wine that is a true bistro wine—tasty, food friendly, full of soul and almost refreshing, without ever becoming heavy. As our original t-shirt proclaimed, this wine is always “easy to use and cheap to operate.”
Zero Manipulation is the winemaking philosophy that we employ on all of our wines. Our definition of Zero Manipulation is using the gentlest winemaking techniques possible to maximize flavors, aromas and the original essence of the grapes from the given vineyard and vintage. The less you do in the course of a wine’s tenure in the cellar, the more of the grape’s, vineyard’s, and vintage’s essence you’ll have to bottle. Every time you do something to a wine, you take out a little of what you started with. We endeavor to share with you as much of the grape’s true essence in every bottle; naturally, sustainably and with a mind to being easy on your wallet.
Tollini Vineyard
The traditional head trained, dry farmed Carignane blocks were planted by Alvin Tollini’s father and grandfather. The Syrah and Grenache were planted by Alvin with the same time-honored techniques and sustainable approach. All sit on southwest facing benches in the Redwood Valley.
Specs
Composition | Harvest Dates:
79% Carignane | October 22nd
11% Petite Sirah | September 28th
10% Syrah | September 20th
Appellation: Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Peterson Winery has been producing wine in Dry Creek Valley for 30 years and, like most wineries in the Valley, produces Zinfandel as well as other wines. Yet a closer look shows that is where the similarities end.
Owner Fred Peterson is an iconoclast with an old world winemaking philosophy and a reverence for sustainable farming. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—with low tech, yet high touch, to produce wines of a place, wines with soul. The evolution of Peterson wines and winemaking accelerated when Fred’s son Jamie became assistant winemaker in the summer of 2002. In 2006, after moving from the tiny red barn on Lytton Springs to Timber Crest Farms, Jamie was given the overall responsibilities as winemaker. As a winegrowing team, Fred and Jamie assess the grapes from each vineyard and vintage as the season progresses, evaluating how the weather, soil and site are interacting for the particular vintage. At Peterson winery, the winemaking process begins while the grapes are still on the vines. Zero Manipulation is a discipline the Petersons follow to capture the character and balance of inherent in the grapes. Zero Manipulation means using the most gentle, traditional winemaking practices possible to maximize the flavors, aromatics and texture of the wines. Fred and Jamie celebrate vintage differences and don’t tweak or homogenize the wine to obtain consistency of flavors, a common practice in mass-market wineries. For Fred and Jamie, Peterson Winery is all about the wines. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see the heart and soul that goes into every bottle.
2018 Peterson Old School Zinfandel, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Specs
2020 Peterson Mendo Blendo, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Tasting Notes
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View
Specs
2019 Peterson Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino County
Tasting Notes
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View
Specs
2019 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Tasting Notes
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Tollini Vineyard
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not all wines are for sale on winery website, $288/case MSRP
About The Winery
Warranty
90 days
Available States
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Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 6 - Tuesday, Nov 7