20 Nov Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Pedroncelli 2017 Mother Clone Zinfandel, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

The third Wednesday of November has been declared National Zinfandel Day. We think of Zinfandel as California’s grape and one family who has been making Zinfandel for almost 100 years is the Pedroncelli family. John Pedroncelli Sr. first purchased the ranch in Dry Creek Valley in 1927, which had been planted to Zinfandel in 1904. The Mother Clone vineyard is located on the hillsides surrounding the winery. Individual blocks were replanted in the early 1980s using selected budwood from old vines and today, this second generation vineyard, as well as a small portion of 100+ year old vines make up the Pedroncelli 2017 Mother Clone Zinfandel, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley, the Please The Palate wine of the week.

The Zinfandel vines are all head pruned and hand-picked. The grapes were destemmed and cold soaked for 24-48 hours. The grapes were inoculated with selected yeast, followed by daily pump-overs and fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The grapes were then pressed and aged for twelve months in American oak, 30 percent of which is new oak. Nineteen percent of Petite Sirah was added for color intensity and structure.

The 2017 Mother Clone Zinfandel is a classic Dry Creek Zinfandel with spicy-berry notes. On the nose, the wine has aromas of ripe blackberries and red fruits, as well as baking spices. On the palate, the wine is juicy and ripe with jammy berry flavors with notes of vanilla and black pepper. The wine has a long spicy finish with round tannins. This is a wine you can enjoy now or hold on to for a few more years. The best part is that this wine is only $19 and can therefore be enjoyed any day of the week with grilled meats, roasted meats and more!

Celebrate National Zinfandel Day every day with the Pedroncelli 2017 Mother Clone Zinfandel Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley, the Please The Palate wine of the week.