Fritz Underground Winery
2010 Estate Zinfandel
Zinfandel
Dry Creek Valley
Mission Briefing
The Nick of Time
Please note that today’s wine will ship to you, today, if you place your order by 3:30pm, Pacific.
This delicious, highly recommended, Zinfandel is the perfect food wine - which is why we chose it as our final wine for Thanksgiving delivery.
Today’s 2010 Fritz Underground Winery Estate Zinfandel is a juicy, delicious wine that surprised our entire tasting panel. Despite its youthfulness, this wine is drinking beautifully. Loaded with flavor, this elegant treat is perfectly balanced with none of the rough edges that can be common in a wine so young as this one.
We adored the previous vintages of this wine and it is with great pride that we offer you this latest vintage. This wine possesses greater balance as far riper fruit than the 2008 and 2009 before it. Despite its relative youth, this wine is ready to drink, now. Be sure to stock up as this may be your only chance to purchase this wonderful wine.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Darkest garnet with a darker, nearly opaque core. At the edge of the glass, a ring of beautiful ruby catches the light. After swirling, tall columns of fat, slow-moving tears fall down the glass wall. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Black cherry, plum and blackberry lead the way. These lush aromas are followed by smoky sweet spice, candied cherry, leather, dark cocoa, leather, dried leaves, cigar box and black pepper. |
| Taste: | Bold actually, BlackBerry, read plum, sweet spice and leather lead the way. As the wine breeze it begins to open up, revealing follow-on flavors of tobacco, Cedar, toasty oak, and earthy savory notes of flint, dried fall leaves and black pepper. |
| Finish: | Dark fruits fade very gradually, gently giving way to leather, spice and earthen elements. Eventually, a soft mineral rich dryness spreads across the entire pallet |
| Pairing: |
What the Winery Says
Our 2010 Estate Zinfandel is handcrafted from 30 year old vines grown on the valley floor of our Estate, a 5 acre site that produces wines that are rich in color and flavor. In this garnet hued wine, look for aromas of blackberry, black and red cherry, wild berry, anise, and subtle dusty earth tones.
It is a well structured Zin with a balanced mouth feel and elegant tannins. Flavors of blackberry, black and red cherry, red licorice, carry through to it’s delightful finish
Wine Specs
Vintage: 2010
Varietal: Zinfandel
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley
Alcohol: 14.6%
About the Winery
It was founder Jay Fritz’s fidelity to sustainability and quality that ultimately made the Fritz Winery what it is today. The company’s seamless respect for the vineyards, and the traditions of artisan, hand-crafted winemaking continue today as both a testament to the founding and commitment to the future.
The Fritz Winery operates with a modern sensibility for efficiency and awareness by utilizing the unique attributes of its subterranean design. Naturally cool temperatures are maintained without any use of expensive or carbon-heavy devices common to most modern wine production.
With a natural spring to supply simple irrigation, redwood groves to provide unique micro-climates, and a soil ideal for prized planting year after year, the Fritz terroir provides for a caliber of wine unrivaled.
Winemaker Brad Longton
Winemaker Brad Longton, originally from Perth, West Australia, became interested in wine while working at a wine retail store as a young adult and was drawn to winemaking as a career. He learned his craft from ten years of hands-on cellar experience at wineries like Brown Brothers winery in Victoria and Amberley Estates in Margaret River, both in Australia.
He traveled to Sonoma County in 2000 to work in the cellar at Murphy-Goode Winery and later at Clos du Bois and Heitz Cellars before he started at Fritz Winery in 2005 as Assistant Winemaker, taking over the reins as Winemaker in 2007.
Brad is intimately involved with every step of the winemaking process, beginning even before the grapes leave the vine. This gives him the ability to hand pick the best lots and best barrels and apply his gentle touch in handcrafting to turn them into our elegant wines.
“I always anticipate the excitement and intrigue of crafting unique wines from single vineyards, allowing the grapes to express the distinctive qualities of their terroir,” he says.
Brad’s efforts have earned praise and enthusiasm from wine critics all over the world.