I’ll be honest fellas, it was sounding great. But I could’ve used a little more Mazzocco Zin. So, let’s take it again…

Aguilera SOLD OUT. Florence Reserve next? Bound to sell out too, watch it!

So many Zinfandels come across our tasting table. And truly, some of the most popular with the Spies team (as well as with you, brilliant Operatives) has easily been from the Wilson Family. They have been CRUSHING it lately, and this is no exception. Cause it also has 97-points that barely tell the story.

“The secret is gorgeous grapes. We have amazing vineyards.” says Antoine Favero, Winemaker. So, MAZZOCCO. If you know, you know.

We have been lucky enough to feature a select few bangers from this flagship winery for the Wilson Family in the last few months. All of them awesome and all of them quick sell outs. But mind you, THIS isn’t just any Mazzocco, but a RESERVE from the LEGENDARY Florence Vineyard on Rockpile.

You’ve heard of Rockpile, but probably not of St. Peter’s Church, the little Cloverdale chapel that The Chronicle called “a little-known vineyard that’s also one of the most influential in California” explaining how Jack Florence Jr., a modest farmer and St. Peter’s Church parishioner “along with his longtime partner and renowned California vineyard manager Ulises Valdez Sr., planted the first St. Peter’s Church franchise vineyard. He transported cuttings (also known as a clone) from the old vineyard and budded them over rootstock high in the rugged and remote hills of Dry Creek Valley to the west. It was one of the first modern-day plantings in what later became the Rockpile appellation.” It was then Rosenblum who helped put both St. Peter’s Church and Rockpile on the map in the 90s with his big, bold, and critically acclaimed Zins.

Yet it was Florence Sr. who planted the first - and still to this day, the best – Zin vineyard on Rockpile, that flourished into a legendary AVA in 2002. And it was all spearheaded by this little vineyard and grower right here in front of you, with the OG fruit that made Rockpile what it is today.

Which is why, decades later, Florence Sr. brought his own wines from this historic site to market. In the recent past this mighty but tiny vineyard’s name appeared on flagship labels from Carol Shelton, Pezzi King, Dashe, and Bella along with the Florence family bottling their own.

Back to The Chronicle one last time - “most of the vineyard’s Zinfandel has gone to Napa’s Elyse Winery, which specializes in both Zinfandel and old vines. ‘It has these awesome textures, like when you lick the roof of your mouth and it’s almost slippery, the complexity is magical. Take a sip and you think there must be a slice of pumpkin pie somewhere nearby’ said Elyse winemaker Russell Bevan.”

And he’s right. It’s BIG and BOLD! At more than HALF off no less. It sure pays to have close friends in the industry… JUST SAYIN’!

Mazzocco is one of the most popular of the Wilson Artisan Wineries, a portfolio HUGE in popularity, locally and nationally, stacking best of this, best of that awards year after year since their humble beginnings in the early 1990s. With wines scoring 90+ points with Wine Spectator and that impeccable track record of literally hundreds of Gold Medals from competitions, they are unrivaled, just like their other acclaimed sister properties - Wilson Family, Matrix, Pezzi King, Rockpile, to name a few.

Serious Zin lovers ADORE Mazzocco. They jump at the chance to score any of the select few small production Reserves. Champagne-born winemaker Antoine Favero has been at the helm here since 2005, sharpening his reputation on Zinfandel. Sunset International awarded this beauty a Double Gold medal alongside a well-deserved 97 Points!

Every Mazzocco Zin we have ever featured flew out the door so don’t sit around today. But none were from the Florence Vineyard, RUN, DON’T WALK