Even before the Urgency vineyard was planted, Clay Shannon’s instincts told him that the blend of volcanic soils would produce full, rich flavors and the long, warm summer days would ripen the grapes perfectly. This special piece of dirt creates wines that do not require long aging, the lush flavors show well upon their release. Why wait to enjoy? Attack life with Urgency.
Color: Ruby red
Aroma: Black cherry, crushed black pepper, red licorice, and toasted vanilla
Flavor: Raspberry and blackberry fruits with a juicy mid-palate. Spicy green pepper notes and complex vanilla finish.
The grapes used to produce the 2019 Urgency Zinfandel came from the hills and slopes of ultra-premium vineyards in Northern California. A blend from multiple vineyard sites was used to create complexity and balance.
Food Pairings
BBQ ribs, blackened swordfish, or a juicy burger will make this wine come alive and reveal hidden notes of sweetness.
Specs
Blend: 100% Zinfandel
Alcohol: 13.9%
RS: 0.064%
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2019 Urgency Zinfandel
Case:
12x 2019 Urgency Zinfandel
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $360/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Shannon Ridge Family of Wines
Owners: Clay and Angie Shannon
Founded: 1995
Location: Lake County
At Shannon Ridge, we live in harmony with Mother Nature. The vineyards feed the sheep, the sheep feed the vines; lamb feeds the people, people drink the wine and wear wool.
We are dedicated to creating a family of wines that consumers love at top-quality and affordable prices. We are passionate about preserving our land, not only for great vineyard sites, but for the wild creatures which share our property. Our sustainability practices integrate a flock of sheep that clean the vineyards, remove the excess canopy, and reduce the need for chemicals, while providing natural fertilizer.
“We grow incredible mountain fruit at a great value for our customers. You can’t find this level of quality at an everyday drinking price.”
Clay grew up on a farm in Healdsburg in Sonoma County. He began his career as a vineyard manager in St. Helena, traveling the wine regions of California managing the company’s vineyards. A short time later he started his own vineyard management company, growing grapes for some of the top wineries and fruit companies in Northern California. Owner and visionary leader of Shannon Ridge Family of Wines, Clay Shannon has transformed his ranch into one of the agricultural icons of California’s North Coast, and in doing so is changing the face and substance of grape-growing in the USA.
In 1995, Clay discovered a magnificent piece of property in the hills overlooking Clear Lake in Lake County, thirty-five miles north of Napa’s famed vineyards. He quickly set out to develop vineyards, Clay’s vision was simple: “We wanted to grow the best fruit in the world,” says Clay, “but we wanted to do it in a way that made us happy living there.”
“Sustainability wasn’t some philosophical concept; it is the way we live our lives.”
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI
@highonpez that’s awesome! What about this wine is an auto buy for you? Would you characterize it as more jammy or spicy or balanced? Thank you in advance!
@mattkillpatty It’s been a bit since I drank one, so no specific tasting notes, but more of a jammy crowd pleaser. It’s not a simple fruit bomb though.
The story of the Urgency vineyard is a nice story, but how much of this wine actually comes from that vineyard and how much from other “ultra-premium vineyards in Northern California.”?
Sorry, chiming in a little later than expected. A bunch of distractions including Chris Rock getting smacked in the face by Will Smith…awkward…anyways yeah, I pretty much forgot about the Lab rat calling that came to me like a punch to the face?
I’ve ratted an Urgency SB and a High Valley zin. I’d say the High Valley zin by Shannon wines was my favorite of the 3. We decided to use this for pasta night in our household. That’s basically where I knock out cooking while having a drink and the kids go nuts with their nerf guns. Oh the little things…I poured a glass with urgency, then poured a third of the bottle to simmer the zucchini, bell pepper, mushroom pasta sauce. I took a sip or two, or three…then let those early years open a bit while everything else rolled into dinner.
This zin initially opened up with that basic red fruit alcohol whiff, which later smelled like red vines. A bit of raspberry and black pepper on the palate that was dominated by red currant. It finished off oaky and is on the sweeter side for me. Wifey says, “middle?”. At some point I remember it starting to taste like cotton candy. Overall it was easy drinking with good conversations and dinner. If I were to get this wine, I’d use it to control the crowds at a party. Not everyone is into the kind of wines I like to open and I’m sure this one would please them more than those funky ones. I now wished it tasted more like punch so I can add another reference to tonight’s events. Thank you Alice and everyone else at CM for making it all happen!
@WCCWineGirl everything is a distraction these days being 36 and temporarily retired/in a different role. Seriously though, it’s fun and challenging taking time out to review these wines and informing my ups driver that I really don’t have a drinking problem.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2019 Urgency Zinfandel from Shannon Ridge - $50 = 33.32%
@mommyrants Having lived in Illinois for many years, I’d say that there are plenty of sins already present without having to import more from elsewhere!
@sandbarhappy it’s probably not crazy high. I just like things dry like the desert I live in. I asked wifey, whom isn’t a huge wine drinker, do you think this is sweet or dry? When she said “middle”, I concluded it wasn’t just me picking up a tad of sweetness. It makes me curious what the RS is as well.
Though I now have a ton of wine (may be literally true) - I am taking a flyer on their story, reasonable alc % and of course price. We will see about the QPR …
@woopdedoo looking at the shipping weight of a case at 37~40#, and calling the net of the bottles 35# to be on the ultra conservative conservative side, I get 2202.1. So still over a ton, gross. Or going at it a different way, and assuming all your bottles are 750’s, you’ve got ~566 L of liquid or ~1246# of wine, after removing the mass of the glass…
I might be one of the latest in the lates of rattage, for which I sincerely apologize. It’s been a heck of a day. Due to time pressure and priorities I will need to keep this rattage short and sweet, but will try to provide enough information to help you decide whether or not to pull the trigger.
On pop, pour, and sniff, the wife and I REALLY liked this. It looked good in the glass, and had a simple but very pleasant aroma. Between the two of us, we got strong blackberry and dark cherry aromas, and I felt like there was a bit of leather on the nose. Once I mentioned it to her, the power of suggestion made it so for her and she couldn’t un-smell it.
First sips brought a pleasant sourness to the palate with a fruity tobacco-like flavor (almost like a rich shisha). There were some tannins present but despite them this wine was smooth… I found my tongue coated in a lovely velvety but not too jammy blanket of zinfandel goodness.
As we drank more over the course of the evening, she lost the sour notes but they became more pronounced for me, and we began to notice some green notes (maybe some kind of bell pepper or something like that? couldn’t quite put our finger on it) on the nose.
Now, lest the picture be too rosy, note that I said “not too jammy”… it was a bit sweeter and less full bodied than I generally like from a Zin, and while the nose was heavenly we felt like the mouth didn’t quite hold up its end of the bargain. It was an incredibly easy drinker though and is something that I could easily see entering a regular rotation on nights when we just want to shut off.
I think we have 3 bottles left? This was our last casemates purchase before moving to a state with extremely messed up alcohol laws. Should have bought 2!
2019 Urgency Zinfandel
Tasting Notes
Color: Ruby red
Food Pairings
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $360/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Apr 18 - Thursday, Apr 21
2019 Urgency Zinfandel from Shannon Ridge
4 bottles for $49.99 $12.50/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $99.99 $8.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
/giphy voracious-weepy-smile
I’ve got 4 left of the 2018, so this was an instant buy.
@highonpez that’s awesome! What about this wine is an auto buy for you? Would you characterize it as more jammy or spicy or balanced? Thank you in advance!
VAN MURALS! GROUND SQUIRRELS! SPIT CURLS! AWESOME!
@mattkillpatty It’s been a bit since I drank one, so no specific tasting notes, but more of a jammy crowd pleaser. It’s not a simple fruit bomb though.
@highonpez @mattkillpatty The 2018 had 20-some percent petite sirah and this is all zin…fwiw
The story of the Urgency vineyard is a nice story, but how much of this wine actually comes from that vineyard and how much from other “ultra-premium vineyards in Northern California.”?
2019 Urgency Zinfandel
Sorry, chiming in a little later than expected. A bunch of distractions including Chris Rock getting smacked in the face by Will Smith…awkward…anyways yeah, I pretty much forgot about the Lab rat calling that came to me like a punch to the face?
I’ve ratted an Urgency SB and a High Valley zin. I’d say the High Valley zin by Shannon wines was my favorite of the 3. We decided to use this for pasta night in our household. That’s basically where I knock out cooking while having a drink and the kids go nuts with their nerf guns. Oh the little things…I poured a glass with urgency, then poured a third of the bottle to simmer the zucchini, bell pepper, mushroom pasta sauce. I took a sip or two, or three…then let those early years open a bit while everything else rolled into dinner.
This zin initially opened up with that basic red fruit alcohol whiff, which later smelled like red vines. A bit of raspberry and black pepper on the palate that was dominated by red currant. It finished off oaky and is on the sweeter side for me. Wifey says, “middle?”. At some point I remember it starting to taste like cotton candy. Overall it was easy drinking with good conversations and dinner. If I were to get this wine, I’d use it to control the crowds at a party. Not everyone is into the kind of wines I like to open and I’m sure this one would please them more than those funky ones. I now wished it tasted more like punch so I can add another reference to tonight’s events. Thank you Alice and everyone else at CM for making it all happen!
@TechnoViking
If you missed it…geez
@TechnoViking Thank you for ratting even after all those distractions.
Here’s a GIF instead of a still image.
@WCCWineGirl everything is a distraction these days being 36 and temporarily retired/in a different role. Seriously though, it’s fun and challenging taking time out to review these wines and informing my ups driver that I really don’t have a drinking problem.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2019 Urgency Zinfandel from Shannon Ridge - $50 = 33.32%
/giphy mundane-forthright-paper
I missed out on the other sins that didn’t ship to IL or MI - easy buy -
@mommyrants Having lived in Illinois for many years, I’d say that there are plenty of sins already present without having to import more from elsewhere!
I’d love to know the RS.
@sandbarhappy it’s probably not crazy high. I just like things dry like the desert I live in. I asked wifey, whom isn’t a huge wine drinker, do you think this is sweet or dry? When she said “middle”, I concluded it wasn’t just me picking up a tad of sweetness. It makes me curious what the RS is as well.
Y’all are killing me with the lack of SC love.
Though I now have a ton of wine (may be literally true) - I am taking a flyer on their story, reasonable alc % and of course price. We will see about the QPR …
@woopdedoo … and out of curiosity I did the calculation which is around 755 bottles or 63 cases. Possibly I am exaggerating my stash, but not by much.
@woopdedoo you were correct! Over a ton (2,457 lbs.)
@woopdedoo looking at the shipping weight of a case at 37~40#, and calling the net of the bottles 35# to be on the ultra conservative conservative side, I get 2202.1. So still over a ton, gross. Or going at it a different way, and assuming all your bottles are 750’s, you’ve got ~566 L of liquid or ~1246# of wine, after removing the mass of the glass…
@woopdedoo or roughly 1,626 lb without the glass, so keep on buying
@rjquillin @woopdedoo
“800 bottles of wine on the floor, 800 bottles of wine! Bring one up n pass it around…” 
RS is .064%… per the winery… fwiw
@kaolis Thanks!!!
I might be one of the latest in the lates of rattage, for which I sincerely apologize. It’s been a heck of a day. Due to time pressure and priorities I will need to keep this rattage short and sweet, but will try to provide enough information to help you decide whether or not to pull the trigger.
On pop, pour, and sniff, the wife and I REALLY liked this. It looked good in the glass, and had a simple but very pleasant aroma. Between the two of us, we got strong blackberry and dark cherry aromas, and I felt like there was a bit of leather on the nose. Once I mentioned it to her, the power of suggestion made it so for her and she couldn’t un-smell it.
First sips brought a pleasant sourness to the palate with a fruity tobacco-like flavor (almost like a rich shisha). There were some tannins present but despite them this wine was smooth… I found my tongue coated in a lovely velvety but not too jammy blanket of zinfandel goodness.
As we drank more over the course of the evening, she lost the sour notes but they became more pronounced for me, and we began to notice some green notes (maybe some kind of bell pepper or something like that? couldn’t quite put our finger on it) on the nose.
Now, lest the picture be too rosy, note that I said “not too jammy”… it was a bit sweeter and less full bodied than I generally like from a Zin, and while the nose was heavenly we felt like the mouth didn’t quite hold up its end of the bargain. It was an incredibly easy drinker though and is something that I could easily see entering a regular rotation on nights when we just want to shut off.
It is a steal at the case price.
As always, thanks to Alice and the CM team!
/giphy ignorant-unarmed-rail
@cleluvswootwine
We thought the butler was covering his ears, now we know he was protecting himself.
My wife said its her favorite Zin all-time. This may not be as helpful as tasting notes, but think it still adds value to.
Finishing our last bottle. Had to come back to shout just how damn good this has been.
I think we have 3 bottles left? This was our last casemates purchase before moving to a state with extremely messed up alcohol laws. Should have bought 2!