SELECTION SALUTE

Two hand crafted reds from the Sierra Foothills Madroña Vineyards

Madroña 2006 Cardanini Vineyard Syrah
•  This wine was recently bottled and has not yet been submitted to competitions or for review.
•  A luscious mouthful of black fruit, including blueberries and blackberries.  Nicely structured, its tannins are soft and invite another glass.
•  All of the fruit for this Syrah was grown at the Cardinini Vineyard next door to Madroña.  “We offered to tend the vineyard for Linda Cardanini several years ago, and it works out well,” notes Paul.
•  After hand harvest, fruit was fermented at the winery just steps away.  It underwent some extra time on the skins for color and texture.
•  This Syrah aged nine months in neutral oak.  “I believe wines focused on fruitiness, like Syrah and Zinfandel, need very little new oak character.  It can muck up the balance of the wine very easily.”
•  Madroña has bottled Syrah since 1997, but this is its first vintage from the Cardanini Vineyard.
•  Excellent with peppered steak, sausage, or spicy stews.
•  Enjoy now or hold 3-5 years.  “If you have balance in the wine it will hold the wine together as it ages out.  A wine with incredible fruit but without the balance will fall apart quickly.”
•  Alcohol:                14.8%
   Total Acidity:         0.52 gm/100ml
   pH:                        3.84
   Cases Produced:    1298 cases
   Bottling Date:        October 22, 2007   
   Release Date:        January 1, 2007   

Madroña 2006 Estate Grown Zinfandel
•  Like the Syrah, this wine was recently bottled and has not yet been submitted to competitions or for review.
•  A Zinfandel with a heady nose of black and red berry fruit that introduce more of the same in your glass.  Weighty in the mouth, with a friendly, smooth finish.
•  This wine was grown at Cardanini Vineyard next door to Madroña as well.  The vines were trained and tended by Madroña who used a trellising system like a vertical cordon, differing from the traditional “goblet” trellising for Zin.  “There is great sun exposure all around the vine, and the fruit is gorgeous,” notes Paul.  “It takes lots of hand work, but it’s worth it.”
•  After hand harvest, fruit was crushed, cold-soaked, fermented and kept on the skins for 11 days.  Paul gently irrigated the “cap” that formed over the wine “to soften the tannins and make a more approachable wine.”
•  This Zin spent six months in neutral oak.
•  A good companion with venison, a Jack cheese sandwich, spicy barbecue, eggplant lasagna.
•  Enjoy now, or hold for 3-5 years.  “This is a very ageable wine,” notes Paul.
•  Alcohol:                  15.6%
   Total Acidity:           0.53gm/100ml
   pH:                         3.81
   Cases Produced:      1292 cases
   Bottling Date:          September 19, 2007   
   Release Date:          January 1, 2007