2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
Tasting Notes
Electric ruby red hue begins the journey. Bold ripe black raspberry, plum, floral rose and candied violet aromas billow from the rim of the glass. Dusty black pepper, more juicy red fruit and an interesting citrus note leaves a lasting impression on the palate long after the wine is swallowed.
This is a strikingly unique approach to Russian River Valley Zin. Decant all Harvest Moon dry red wine. Cellar from 2016-2022.
Specs
Vintage: 2014
Barrel Regime: 20 months in French Barrels, 100% mature, neutral oak
Alcohol: 14.9%
Production: 350 cases
2014 Harvest Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Electric in color, this 100% Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon promises a classic Bordeaux-style experience. Dusty clove, floral tobacco, fresh licorice and violet gently layer this very approachable Cab. Light tannins from a softer punchdown regiment yet firm acidity will win the day at your dinner table. With only 15% new oak, this wine showcases balance and Cabās ability to be more reflective and elegant in nature.
Winemakerās Notes
This is one of the few vineyards I donāt farm myself, however Iāve worked with Rick Buchignani for 15 years and know he and I are on the same exact page in bringing the Cab fruit to the crushpad in optimal condition. We crushed the cold clusters and destemmed to open top 3/4 ton fermentors where the must was mixed/punched down three times daily for 12 days. We pressed off the totally dry must directly to barrel where the sediment on the valley of the barrel was stirred once daily for a month thereafter.
In the late Spring 2015, the wine was racked off its sediment and placed back in barrel until June 2016 where the wine was gently placed into a blending tank and bottled later that month.
Specs
Vintage: 2014
100% Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Barrel Regime: 20 months in French Barrels, only 15% new oak
Alcohol: 13.3%
Whatās Included
4-bottles:
2x 2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
2x 2014 Harvest Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley. Sonoma County
Case:
6x 2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
6x 2014 Harvest Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley. Sonoma County
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 that 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 familyās modest nine-acre ranch. In conjunction with lessons on farming by his Dad and a few viticulture/enology courses at the local junior college, Randy made a barrel of homemade Zinfandel off the ranchās back block which turned out exceptionally tasty. Quickly concluding that properly farmed and judiciously fermented, Zinfandel has great capabilities of being Californiaās own wine nobility. The growers-turned winemakers birthed their inaugural vintage in 2002 and look forward to making their Zinprint on the winescene for decades to come.
In addition to growing Zinfandel, Harvest Moon also hand crafts small amounts of Russian River Valley GewĆ¼rztraminer, Pinot Noir and Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2014 Harvest Moon Mixed Reds - $40 = 19.04%
Harvest Moon has become a favorite everyday drinker for me. If my 400+ bottle shelf space werenāt maxed out with spill-over, Iād be all in for a case. Iāll have to sit this one out, Iām afraid. Next timeā¦
If anyone is worried about the age on the zin, donāt be. The 12ās and 13ās are drinking beautifully now and the 14s could easily go a few more years. Great juice.
@RDUORDMDWGSO Yeah that is Odd. NC seems to always be on most lists. I donāt think they are too restrictive. Itās my alternate/Winter address, but at the moment Iām WA.
P.S. So RDUORDMDWGSO you only have a few letters that work on your keyboard and your Caps Lock is always on? --jk
Iāll start by saying this will be brief as we are in the middle of moving, and my job as a school administrator (in FL) is rather busy right now.
TL,DR: Iām buying a case based on tasting the Zin.
After a text exchange with Rob, a very accommodating UPS driver, I was able to obtain the box shipped to our old address.
2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley. Nice! We like Zin and we have enjoyed many bottles of Harvest Moon. Never had this single vineyard before. Chilled in the fridge for a bit as it is quite hot in Florida.
PnP at decent cellar temp, nose is muted, as is first sip. DH and I swirled and sniffed for a bit, took a few sips and agreed it needed some air. 15 minutes and this is an entirely different wine. Floral nose, juicy raspberry, plums, and tart cherries. Smooth tannins and not the āin your faceā fruit and pepper you sometimes get with a Zin. This is just lovely. I mean this is a beautiful and well crafted wine.
We paired with cheese ravioli, homemade meatballs and marinara, it paired wonderfully. Saved half for the next day. Grilled ribeyes with caramelized onion blue cheese sauce, baked potatoes, and medley of fresh zucchini and corn with fresh basil. Again, a fabulous pairing.
@pseudogourmet98 Thanks for good Rat Report and also apparently thanks to your UPS person hopefully they get a bottle ātipā every now and then. Good luck on your move and new school season. I canāt imagine dealing with both of those at once. And in Florida tooā¦ (just sayinā).
Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley
Hey yāall
I was lucky enough to get the 2014 Harvest Moon Cab! After some shipping nonsense (no fault of casemates) I recieved my bottle and let it sit overnight in my wine fridge. First impressions were bright cherry, some black currant and tobacco on the nose for myself. Color is a dark purple and nearly opaque in the glass. As for the taste I felt that there was plum, cherry, some of the licorice mention in the description (not gonna lie I was having trouble placing that one) and a bit of the tobacco too. Tannins were very light for a cab too. Overall a very good mouth feel, very smooth without anything lingering. I had my wife and roommate try it too and overall they enjoyed it and said it would fit into a nice weeknight wine category. Thanks to Alice and the Casemates team for another wonderful bottle!
@klezmanIf only.ā¦ If only we could choose a ship date. The 2-day (sometimes 3-) seems to be working OK with UPS. But no control over the āwhenā of shipping. And especially if going away for a bit, no way to know if a new order will ship in 4 days or 4 weeks. And remember that $9.99 UPS upcharge to reschedule delivery.
@pmarin@ScottW58 Yeah, I know. Forgot to check the ship dates on this and Iām out of town for half of them. @rjquillin maybe redirect it to a different address to be safe?
Not to hijack, but I remain surprised at how may people talk about the $9.99 fee to change UPS shipping options. The other option is $20/year. That seems really reasonable to me ($1.67/mo) to get more control over the packages Iām receiving.
@klezman@pmarin@rjquillin@ScottW58 I posted this before, and didnāt see a response, but has anyone tried the system that works for us? The dispatcher automatically has the packages sent to our home address redirected to the UPS depot, and they call me to let me know theyāre ready for pickup. I drop off a few bottles for them from time to time, and they treat me really well. It helps that the depot is only a few miles from our house, so picking them up is no big deal.
@ddeuddeg@pmarin@rjquillin@ScottW58 Weāre out of town approximately once in almost never, and the only reason Iām even worrying about it is that this is such a killer deal.
@ddeuddeg@klezman@pmarin@rjquillin@ScottW58
I donāt think you can pick them up the the hub/depot anymore. Can only redirect to UPS stores and participating retailers for a $5.99 fee. At least thatās how it is here.
@chipgreen@klezman@pmarin@rjquillin@ScottW58 Have you actually asked at the depot? When it was offered to me, it sounded like a routine procedure. I just had to request it, and the guy at the pickup desk put the order through.
@ddeuddeg@klezman@pmarin@rjquillin@ScottW58
The depot used to be the only place they would redirect to, now itās the one place they wonāt. Granted, I have not called the depot directly to ask if they will hold a package - have just used the āUPS My Choiceā options online.
2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
Tasting Notes
Specs
2014 Harvest Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Winemakerās Notes
Specs
Whatās Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$598/Case at Harvest Moon Estate & Winery for 6x 2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley & 6x 2014 Harvest Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley. Sonoma County
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Aug 30 - Tuesday, Aug 31
Harvest Moon Mixed Reds
4 bottles for $69.99 $17.50/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel
2014 Harvest Moon Buchignani Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon
Hot damnā¦ Two of my favorite wines from one of my favourite wineries!
@klezman Foiled by state delivery restrictions.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2014 Harvest Moon Mixed Reds - $40 = 19.04%
Harvest Moon has become a favorite everyday drinker for me. If my 400+ bottle shelf space werenāt maxed out with spill-over, Iād be all in for a case. Iāll have to sit this one out, Iām afraid. Next timeā¦
Is there enough interest in SoCal to split a case?
@klezman took you long enough to askā¦
@rjquillin I thought the prior post was enough of an invitation. Oh well.
@klezman foxy-nosy-stick
@klezman @rjquillin I at least would take one cab. I have a vertical going. But wouldnāt mind trying the zin too. 1+1 then for me?
@radiolysis @rjquillin ok, so far thatās 6 for me, 2 for you, and 4 for Ron?
If anyone is worried about the age on the zin, donāt be. The 12ās and 13ās are drinking beautifully now and the 14s could easily go a few more years. Great juice.
@deadlyapp Iāll confirm that. These wines age very very well. Easily 15 years.
No shipping to NC? Is this a mistake?
@RDUORDMDWGSO Yeah that is Odd. NC seems to always be on most lists. I donāt think they are too restrictive. Itās my alternate/Winter address, but at the moment Iām WA.
P.S. So RDUORDMDWGSO you only have a few letters that work on your keyboard and your Caps Lock is always on? --jk
@pmarin @RDUORDMDWGSO
Looks like airports to me.
RDU - Raleigh
ORD - OāHare
MDW - Midway
GSO - Greensboro
@pmarin @pupator you are 100% correct.
@pmarin @pupator @RDUORDMDWGSO ANOTHER mystery solvedā¦on CM. TA-DUNT-DUN-DAH!!
@kitkat34 @pmarin @pupator @RDUORDMDWGSO Quality sleuthing!
@kitkat34 @LJeAYsy4LoqxEC @pmarin @pupator the real question is ā¦ why? Why those airport codes ā¦.
@LJeAYsy4LoqxEC @pmarin @pupator @RDUORDMDWGSO Youāre a pilot!!? And you have 2 homes, 2 separate lives, lol. (NC,IL) So youāre able to w- -tleg lots of cases.
In for a case
Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel
Iāll start by saying this will be brief as we are in the middle of moving, and my job as a school administrator (in FL) is rather busy right now.
TL,DR: Iām buying a case based on tasting the Zin.
After a text exchange with Rob, a very accommodating UPS driver, I was able to obtain the box shipped to our old address.
2014 Harvest Moon Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley. Nice! We like Zin and we have enjoyed many bottles of Harvest Moon. Never had this single vineyard before. Chilled in the fridge for a bit as it is quite hot in Florida.
PnP at decent cellar temp, nose is muted, as is first sip. DH and I swirled and sniffed for a bit, took a few sips and agreed it needed some air. 15 minutes and this is an entirely different wine. Floral nose, juicy raspberry, plums, and tart cherries. Smooth tannins and not the āin your faceā fruit and pepper you sometimes get with a Zin. This is just lovely. I mean this is a beautiful and well crafted wine.
We paired with cheese ravioli, homemade meatballs and marinara, it paired wonderfully. Saved half for the next day. Grilled ribeyes with caramelized onion blue cheese sauce, baked potatoes, and medley of fresh zucchini and corn with fresh basil. Again, a fabulous pairing.
If the Cab is half as good, Iāll be happy!
Cheers!
@pseudogourmet98 Thanks for good Rat Report and also apparently thanks to your UPS person hopefully they get a bottle ātipā every now and then. Good luck on your move and new school season. I canāt imagine dealing with both of those at once. And in Florida tooā¦ (just sayinā).
@pseudogourmet98 Thank you for the rattage especially during such a bush time.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Buchignani Ranch Dry Creek Valley
Hey yāall
I was lucky enough to get the 2014 Harvest Moon Cab! After some shipping nonsense (no fault of casemates) I recieved my bottle and let it sit overnight in my wine fridge. First impressions were bright cherry, some black currant and tobacco on the nose for myself. Color is a dark purple and nearly opaque in the glass. As for the taste I felt that there was plum, cherry, some of the licorice mention in the description (not gonna lie I was having trouble placing that one) and a bit of the tobacco too. Tannins were very light for a cab too. Overall a very good mouth feel, very smooth without anything lingering. I had my wife and roommate try it too and overall they enjoyed it and said it would fit into a nice weeknight wine category. Thanks to Alice and the Casemates team for another wonderful bottle!
@streets455 Thank you for the report and the great pics.
@WineDavid49 please donāt ship these until the week of the 30th!!!
@klezman If only.ā¦ If only we could choose a ship date. The 2-day (sometimes 3-) seems to be working OK with UPS. But no control over the āwhenā of shipping. And especially if going away for a bit, no way to know if a new order will ship in 4 days or 4 weeks. And remember that $9.99 UPS upcharge to reschedule delivery.
@klezman
Lol
@pmarin @ScottW58 Yeah, I know. Forgot to check the ship dates on this and Iām out of town for half of them.
@rjquillin maybe redirect it to a different address to be safe?
@klezman @pmarin
Not to hijack, but I remain surprised at how may people talk about the $9.99 fee to change UPS shipping options. The other option is $20/year. That seems really reasonable to me ($1.67/mo) to get more control over the packages Iām receiving.
@klezman @pmarin @pupator Yes, the $20 option is what I do, works great.
@klezman @pmarin @rjquillin @ScottW58 I posted this before, and didnāt see a response, but has anyone tried the system that works for us? The dispatcher automatically has the packages sent to our home address redirected to the UPS depot, and they call me to let me know theyāre ready for pickup. I drop off a few bottles for them from time to time, and they treat me really well. It helps that the depot is only a few miles from our house, so picking them up is no big deal.
@ddeuddeg @pmarin @rjquillin @ScottW58 Weāre out of town approximately once in almost never, and the only reason Iām even worrying about it is that this is such a killer deal.
@ddeuddeg @klezman @pmarin @rjquillin @ScottW58
I donāt think you can pick them up the the hub/depot anymore. Can only redirect to UPS stores and participating retailers for a $5.99 fee. At least thatās how it is here.
@chipgreen @klezman @pmarin @rjquillin @ScottW58 Have you actually asked at the depot? When it was offered to me, it sounded like a routine procedure. I just had to request it, and the guy at the pickup desk put the order through.
@ddeuddeg @klezman @pmarin @rjquillin @ScottW58
The depot used to be the only place they would redirect to, now itās the one place they wonāt. Granted, I have not called the depot directly to ask if they will hold a package - have just used the āUPS My Choiceā options online.
What no WI ?!?
I didnāt get any takers the last time I asked for willing splitters in the Fairfax Va area-anyone this time?
Have loved my previous Harvest Moon(s). Rats seem to say it is safe to order a couple of cases.
A case for North FL!!!
/giphy cut-polite-boar
In for a case
/giphy demonic-obtainable-spy