Deep purple color; blackberry, blueberry, plum, caramel on the nose; blackberry, plum, licorice, sweet oak, vanilla, earth, smoke on the palate.
Dry; plush and powerful in the mouth. Medium tannins and acidity. Bold oak competes with black and blue fruits for your palate’s attention. Blend of 99% zinfandel, 1% petite sirah from one vineyard—the Renwood Ranch in Plymouth, Amador County, California. 14.5% ABV
Joe Shebl is the winemaker. He asserts his focus is on balance and elegance. Italian winemaker and international consultant Alberto Antonini assists. Both men champion a minimalistic approach to winemaking. Let the Ranch Estate grapes play the lead. The wine spends time in oak, but its influence is limited to just 15% new French wood. Nevertheless, there is noticeable oak in this effort. It adds nice complexity and a relatively robust presence.
Renwood is a brand of New Frontier Wines. The enterprise involves a Hall of Fame lineup of wine winemakers and consultants. They include Michel Rolland, Philippe Melka, Maayan Koschitzky, Matt Sands, Juan Pablo Margia, and Mark Pittman. Their focus is quality, terroir-influenced pours.
Renwood Ranch Estate Zinfandel, Amador County 2019 is broad and plush, but avoids the massive alcohol and fruitiness of some big California zins. This flirts with elegance and decorum, but still has the earthiness, smokiness, and exotic spiciness of those riper, more bombastic zin efforts. Pair with rich beef, especially barbecue; lamb; poultry. Appetizers—olives, salty crackers, pepperty salami, spicy nuts. Cheese—hard cheeses, cheddar, manchego; blue sheese, feta, aged gruyere, havarti, gorgonzola, parmesan. $24-27
https://www.newfrontierwines.com/
