2017 Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, 375ml
Tasting Notes
Ripe and full-bodied without being overly sweet, this Estate Zinfandel bursts out of the glass with juicy wild blackberry, cassis, and fine black pepper.
Pairing: Dark Chocolate or with your favorite person
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Bursting with big, ripe juicy wild blackberry and fine pepper, this slightly sweet delicacy will impress even the biggest critic of dessert wines finding it sweet but not syrupy and happily lacking the typical viscosity of dessert wines.
Cooperage: Oak chip bag during tank fermentation
Specs
Bottle size: 375ml
Vintage: 2017
Varietal: Zinfandel
Style: Balanced Dessert wine
Appellation: Russian River Valley Estate
Alcohol: 14.50%
Bottled: 2017-12-22
Drinkable: now till 2025
Harvest Date: 2017-10-24
Harvest Brix: 26.8°
ph Level: 3.6
Residual Sugar: 5.8
Production: 550 cases
What’s Included
3-bottles:
3x 2017 Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, 375ml
Case:
12x 2017 Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, 375ml
The Harvest Moon: the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year when these moons are visible.
Harvest Moon Estate and Winery was founded on growing, producing, and bottling world-class Russian River Valley wine in a balanced, elegant style. Our premise is that Russian River Valley Zinfandel can be just as layered and complex as any Pinot Noir or Bordeaux variety in the world and receive the same respect. The Pitts family has grown quality grapes in the Russian River Valley since 1976. In 2000, son Randy reverse migrated from San Francisco back to Sonoma County to assume the farming responsibilities at the family’s modest nine-acre ranch. In conjunction with lessons on farming from his Dad and a few viticulture/enology courses at the local junior college, Randy made a barrel of homemade Zinfandel off the ranch’s back block which turned out exceptionally tasty. Quickly concluding that properly farmed and judiciously fermented, Zinfandel has great capabilities of being California’s own wine nobility. The growers-turned winemakers birthed their inaugural vintage in 2002 and look forward to making their Zinprint on the wine scene for decades to come.
In addition to growing Zinfandel, Harvest Moon also hand crafts small amounts of Russian River Valley Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI
Preliminary rat report here. Will be back with a full report later, but this is excellent. Juicy, nicely sweet, mouth watering acidity, and a great deal.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2017 Harvest Moon Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel - $50 = 24.99%
OK, time for the full report! Had some friends over tonight and we went through a few bottles alongside our Serrano ham that I finally opened. This wine was not, however, one of the wines we drank tonight. I drank this with molarchae last night, a few short hours after its arrival.
First off, I should note here that the Harvest Moon LH Zin has generally been a house favourite and one of molarchae’s favourite wines over the years. We’ve had vintages of this dating back to 2005, and have drank them (according to CT) as old as 13 years post vintage, all with happy reviews.
That said, this was our first taste of the 2017 vintage. And one thing that Harvest Moon has is vintage variation - that’s what happens when you farm the way Randy does, and I’d say it’s a good thing. This vintage is a little less overtly ripe and fruity than some of the others we’ve had, but it’s still a classic Harvest Moon LH Zin.
What does that mean?
On opening we got a nice nose of ripe berries and maybe plums. A bit of cut grass as well - a recurring note in Randy’s Zinfandels. The flavour profile was fruity but subdued, light, yet still with some depth. The wine is very much medium weight, even light weight compared to some of the more spoofulated Zins out there on the market, with nice viscosity and just enough sugar to tell you this is a dessert wine without it overpowering any particular dessert. Finish was initially short to medium. Acidity was nicely matched to the wine and the style.
With some time the wine went up and down, occasionally closing down aromatically, but then opening up to show more interesting notes. As the bottle progressed, we got more fruit and baking spices - I got a very distinctive cinnamon aroma for a while. The grassy aroma came and went. Other, more herbal, aromas came to the foreground in its place. I got some black tea once or twice as well. As the wine got air, the finish evolved to become longer and more complex. The acidity gained more of the sensation that can only be described as mouth-watering. It really makes you want to come back for another sip.
In the end, this half bottle did not last all that long - maybe 90 minutes. It was too enjoyable and drinkable to keep around for a second day tasting, and we opened it too late in the evening to let it get 4+ hours of air.
Seeing that the price now is barely more than when Casemates had this a few years ago this is a solid deal if you ever have the desire to drink a dessert wine. This is basically a classically made Zin Port without the grappa: picked only slightly late and kept to a lighter style that still expresses the vineyard(s) and vintage. While this isn’t as compelling as our favourite vintage of this wine (the 2008) this is a delightful and highly drinkable wine.
@Harvest_Moon@klezman Can’t imagine the barrier to entry to work at your tasting room is more than getting on the short bus. Worst experience of the 5 wineries.
@klezman@KNmeh7 oh it’s you again. We discussed your unfortunate experience over the last two offers. Although your experience happens .5% of the time, and I apologized, people are more willing to share a bad experience over the overwhelmingly incredible, fun tastings over the past 20 years. Thanks for stopping by!
@Harvest_Moon Thanks for the compliment Randy! We’ve visited a number of times, during barrel tasting weekend and other random times. You make a mean pizza, too!
If we lived closer I’d take you up on some occasional tasting room work.
Greetings Catematers! Randy with Harvest Moon here. Super excited to be offering another tasty vino from our wine vault. Our 2017 Estate late harvest Zinfandel is one for the records. Not too sweet, not too high in booze, this is the Goldie lockes of dessert wines. 2017 we captured not just beautiful, dark spicy fruit, we also captured the black pepper. If you’ve never tasted a slightly sweet, dessert wine that has a pepper component, this is it.
I like this dessert wine not for those who love the sticky, but for those who typically don’t like it sweet. Of course those who are fond of late harvested wine will love it too.
I will be popping on and off the board to answer any questions cheers and thank you for support my small, family winery!!!
Is this sale sold out? Every time I try to order here, it doesn’t complete the order, and I’ve been told in support tickets that it’s sold out. Nothing on the site indicates it’s sold out though.
@chrisnord It is not sold out - when that happens it will say “sold out” instead of having the “buy” button(s). If you email support you will not receive an answer in time to make the purchase given the limited time nature of the sales. Your best bet is to do what you just did and post here. Better to tag @WineDavid49 so he’s aware and can maybe fix any issues.
I’d have to guess you have one of two issues: either you don’t have your age/birthday included in your profile (easy to fix) or the wine doesn’t ship to your state (hard to fix). This offer ships to: AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV
@chrisnord
Still active. I was just able to order then cancel a case.
Perhaps log out and back in again?
Are you in a ship-tp state?
And do check the age Klez mentioned.
@klezman@Winedavid49 no such luck. I’ve tried using different browsers, resetting my password, made sure all my info is correct. I’m in MN, so it’s allowed in my state. It’s the same problem I had before, and it hasn’t been fixed. Help desk just said it must have been sold out, but it’s not. It’s too bad, I really enjoyed this wine the last time I ordered it.
I’m in MN and ordered without issue. So this is clearly an isolated issue. I’m not sure what the issue is specifically, but I sincerely hope it gets resolved.
Well, I see what others are saying, and i hate to be the rain on the parade, but… disappointing. The wine is ok, a very surprising flavor. Rather more tart and acidic than i expected of a zin. And the worst part, my fault most likely, but I didn’t notice these were MICRO BOTTLES. Tiny little bottles of wine, a split and not a full 750ml or more. That wasn’t obvious enough for me to see when ordering. So, tiny bottles of shockingly tart wine. Next time, hard pass on this one for me.
2017 Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, 375ml
Tasting Notes
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$432.00/Case for 12x 2017 Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, 375ml at Harvest Moon Estate & Winery
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jan 2 - Thursday, Jan 5
2017 Harvest Moon Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel
3 bottles for $49.99 $16.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $149.99 $12.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Preliminary rat report here. Will be back with a full report later, but this is excellent. Juicy, nicely sweet, mouth watering acidity, and a great deal.
/giphy crimson-compassionate-dancer
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2017 Harvest Moon Late Harvest Estate Zinfandel - $50 = 24.99%
/giphy victorian-brisk-cranberry
These are always tasty.
OK, time for the full report! Had some friends over tonight and we went through a few bottles alongside our Serrano ham that I finally opened. This wine was not, however, one of the wines we drank tonight. I drank this with molarchae last night, a few short hours after its arrival.
First off, I should note here that the Harvest Moon LH Zin has generally been a house favourite and one of molarchae’s favourite wines over the years. We’ve had vintages of this dating back to 2005, and have drank them (according to CT) as old as 13 years post vintage, all with happy reviews.
That said, this was our first taste of the 2017 vintage. And one thing that Harvest Moon has is vintage variation - that’s what happens when you farm the way Randy does, and I’d say it’s a good thing. This vintage is a little less overtly ripe and fruity than some of the others we’ve had, but it’s still a classic Harvest Moon LH Zin.
What does that mean?
On opening we got a nice nose of ripe berries and maybe plums. A bit of cut grass as well - a recurring note in Randy’s Zinfandels. The flavour profile was fruity but subdued, light, yet still with some depth. The wine is very much medium weight, even light weight compared to some of the more spoofulated Zins out there on the market, with nice viscosity and just enough sugar to tell you this is a dessert wine without it overpowering any particular dessert. Finish was initially short to medium. Acidity was nicely matched to the wine and the style.
With some time the wine went up and down, occasionally closing down aromatically, but then opening up to show more interesting notes. As the bottle progressed, we got more fruit and baking spices - I got a very distinctive cinnamon aroma for a while. The grassy aroma came and went. Other, more herbal, aromas came to the foreground in its place. I got some black tea once or twice as well. As the wine got air, the finish evolved to become longer and more complex. The acidity gained more of the sensation that can only be described as mouth-watering. It really makes you want to come back for another sip.
In the end, this half bottle did not last all that long - maybe 90 minutes. It was too enjoyable and drinkable to keep around for a second day tasting, and we opened it too late in the evening to let it get 4+ hours of air.
Seeing that the price now is barely more than when Casemates had this a few years ago this is a solid deal if you ever have the desire to drink a dessert wine. This is basically a classically made Zin Port without the grappa: picked only slightly late and kept to a lighter style that still expresses the vineyard(s) and vintage. While this isn’t as compelling as our favourite vintage of this wine (the 2008) this is a delightful and highly drinkable wine.
@klezman nice notes
@klezman awesome rattage - thank you
VAN MURALS! GROUND SQUIRRELS! SPIT CURLS! AWESOME!
@klezman if you ever need another job, come work in my tasting room. I could not have written about my wines better than what was described here.
@Harvest_Moon @klezman Can’t imagine the barrier to entry to work at your tasting room is more than getting on the short bus. Worst experience of the 5 wineries.
@klezman @KNmeh7 oh it’s you again. We discussed your unfortunate experience over the last two offers. Although your experience happens .5% of the time, and I apologized, people are more willing to share a bad experience over the overwhelmingly incredible, fun tastings over the past 20 years. Thanks for stopping by!
@Harvest_Moon Thanks for the compliment Randy! We’ve visited a number of times, during barrel tasting weekend and other random times. You make a mean pizza, too!
If we lived closer I’d take you up on some occasional tasting room work.
This sounds lovely! Tis the season for port!
/giphy fluffy-victorian-gelt
@TimW in for a case!
@TimW you’ll love it
Greetings Catematers! Randy with Harvest Moon here. Super excited to be offering another tasty vino from our wine vault. Our 2017 Estate late harvest Zinfandel is one for the records. Not too sweet, not too high in booze, this is the Goldie lockes of dessert wines. 2017 we captured not just beautiful, dark spicy fruit, we also captured the black pepper. If you’ve never tasted a slightly sweet, dessert wine that has a pepper component, this is it.
I like this dessert wine not for those who love the sticky, but for those who typically don’t like it sweet. Of course those who are fond of late harvested wine will love it too.
I will be popping on and off the board to answer any questions cheers and thank you for support my small, family winery!!!
Funny enough we were just talking about harvest moon last night during supper! In for two cases
I’m down to two of the 2009, so I ordered a case. If anyone in San Diego is interested in 4-6 bottles, I can split it up.
@accs
I could help out with 3 or 4.
@rjquillin I’ll keep this in mind when they arrive. We’ll talk then.
Thank you.
Is this sale sold out? Every time I try to order here, it doesn’t complete the order, and I’ve been told in support tickets that it’s sold out. Nothing on the site indicates it’s sold out though.
@chrisnord It is not sold out - when that happens it will say “sold out” instead of having the “buy” button(s). If you email support you will not receive an answer in time to make the purchase given the limited time nature of the sales. Your best bet is to do what you just did and post here. Better to tag @WineDavid49 so he’s aware and can maybe fix any issues.
I’d have to guess you have one of two issues: either you don’t have your age/birthday included in your profile (easy to fix) or the wine doesn’t ship to your state (hard to fix). This offer ships to: AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV
@chrisnord
Still active. I was just able to order then cancel a case.
Perhaps log out and back in again?
Are you in a ship-tp state?
And do check the age Klez mentioned.
@klezman @Winedavid49 no such luck. I’ve tried using different browsers, resetting my password, made sure all my info is correct. I’m in MN, so it’s allowed in my state. It’s the same problem I had before, and it hasn’t been fixed. Help desk just said it must have been sold out, but it’s not. It’s too bad, I really enjoyed this wine the last time I ordered it.
@chrisnord @Winedavid49 try making a second account?
@chrisnord @klezman @Winedavid49
I’m in MN and ordered without issue. So this is clearly an isolated issue. I’m not sure what the issue is specifically, but I sincerely hope it gets resolved.
@chrisnord I’m not neary laptop right now, but I’ll look into this for you in a few hours when I get back.
Usually the issue is the billing zip code not matching what the bank has on file.
It won’t be in time for this deal, though.
@chrisnord I couldn’t find anything specific. Please write into casemates.com/support and let them know the error message you were seeing.
Well, I see what others are saying, and i hate to be the rain on the parade, but… disappointing. The wine is ok, a very surprising flavor. Rather more tart and acidic than i expected of a zin. And the worst part, my fault most likely, but I didn’t notice these were MICRO BOTTLES. Tiny little bottles of wine, a split and not a full 750ml or more. That wasn’t obvious enough for me to see when ordering. So, tiny bottles of shockingly tart wine. Next time, hard pass on this one for me.