Tom Mackey Cellars

Old dog, new trick

Sonoma Valley Zin with a track record of significant accolades with massive savings is a mighty rare deal dear Operatives, so listen up!

Always a crowd-pleaser, this is our favorite vintage yet! So intense, yet so pure and strikingly rich in fruit. You’ll recall from our previous popular winners that Tom Mackey helped put St. Francis Winery on the map. Starting in the early 1980s as their first winemaker when Mackey eventually retired from St. Francis, his favorite grower partners insisted that no one else could do better with their precious fruit.

Deep purple, almost black in the glass, it bursts forth with oodles of blackberry jam, black cherry, and a dusting of chocolate, licorice and cigar box. Mouthcoating tannins and lively acidity enhance the berry basket flavors and lend a terrific velvet mouthfeel. Superb structure and unexpected complexity sneak up on the finish too, with long lingering complexity. Anything grilled, smoked, or roasted low and slow will do, but charcoal or aromatic woods will only make things better.

Somehow TMC remains our dirty little secret as the wines are awesome, and they make just a few barrels of each of their gems only. While it was their Bordeaux blend that opened our eyes originally to how exciting these wines are, their Zinfandel here before us is the showstopper. For what you’re paying here, Zin just does not get better…

While this fresh as daisies 2017 has yet to be reviewed, every single past vintage of this gem has scored in the lower 90s with many a Gold medal from prestigious competitions.

Top 100 – Sonoma Magazine

“Tom Mackey was the winemaker at St. Francis for 30 years, mentoring Katie Madigan, also a winner in this category, and co-winemaker Chris Louton. After retiring Mackey founded his own brand, with partner Clyde Galantine, focusing on red wines from Sonoma Valley. His Zinfandel has wonderful acidity and tangy freshness accompanying the raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry aromas and flavors. Balanced and medium-bodied, it finishes with a hint of peppery spice.”