Old Hill Ranch
I write this in the middle of a trip to California, the primary purpose of which was to taste Zinfandel. You see I love Zinfandel, think it’s the country’s greatest wine in fact. There is more diversity with Zin, planted as it is basically throughout the state, than any other wine. Not only is it planted throughout the state but it has in fact found some pretty terrific sites all through central and northern California. It is nothing if not adaptable.
I’ll follow up soon with an actual article on Zinfandel but today I am side tracked. Side tracked by wine that fell outside of my box, so to speak. The box I came to California to fill. The great Zinfandel box. As I mentioned I love ZInfandel, even named two producers as Snooth’s Producer of the Year in both 2011 and 2012. Such is my love for the grape and admiration for those who produce it. In planning my current trip I was able to pack the list with some of my favorite producers, though a few were too busy with crush, which seems to have ended for most folks just this past week, the week of October 20th as I write this. None the less I was able to put together a compelling list, and have been working my way through my visits, generally quite delighted by the wines I’ve been trying. And then there was my visit to the Old Hill Ranch with Will Bucklin.
First off let me say that walking through the freshly broken earth among those ancient vines was, while not a religious experience, somewhat hallowed. This is history. Vines stretching back well over a century. A crazy patchwork of varieties seemingly planted without rhyme or reason, clones gathered from who knows where. And of wines produced from this piece of dirt that have crossed my lips, all came flooding back to mind.
You see while I have always been a fan of Zinfandel, and have had some really great Zins in my life, my epiphany ZIn having been the 1981 Edmeads DuPratt consumed extensively through the late 1980s. But it wasn’t until the early 1992 that I took the time to explore Zinfandel and discover how good the wines could be.
I discovered, among other things, that Zinfandel had a voice. Certainly producers took stylistic liberty with Zin. There was everything from Beaujolais style Zin through dry port styled Zin back in the day, as there remains today to a certain extent. This flexibility of course should be applauded and exalted as an attribute of a uniquely constituted variety, but I learned more than that back in the day. I learned about terroir before that term was bandied about.
[PAGEBREAK]
When made in a well judged style, neither too light nor too ripe, Zinfandel is capable of displaying striking terroir. European levels of terroir, though many are surely snickering at the thought. Think about it though. Not only do the Zins of Lodi, Amador County, and Dry Creek Valley each, communally have something unique and distinctive to say, but when you drill down within a county you’ll find that there are Vineyards that also have a voice. That carry traits from vintage to vintage, and even more importantly from producer to producer.
There is no other wine in the US that can offer the average consumer the kind of terroir education that Zinfandel can, especially at it’s relatively modest price point. That is part of what makes Zinfandel special to me. An important wine for me. And then of course there is the fact that I really enjoy the wines as well. I find many to be simply delicious, and when served with the right foods they can work magically at the table.
All this serves simply as a lead in though. Sit down at the wood table that passes for a tasting room in Will Bucklin’s barn and taste the Old Hill Ranch Ancient vines. Taste it in the middle of several days tasting Zinfandel. It says Zinfandel on the label. It is not Zin. Tasting this wine I can’t help but think of two things. First of all this is not Zinfandel. It may be labeled as Zinfandel but I’ve tasted enough Zinfandel to recognize it when I taste it and this simply isn’t Zinfandel.
My second through is bound to be more controversial than my first, though not by much. When tasting the wine, in particular the very young 2011 Old Hill, what comes to mind is Syrah. Northern Rhone Syrah in fact, and from a very good traditional producer at that. Now this wine tastes very little like the wine I am thinking of , and yet as I search my wine memory that is where I end up. I realize later that what I was searching for was another wine with the size of this wine that had such energy and life and inner mouth perfume. A wine rich like this yet with such an array of savory flavors layered over the base of fruit. This is where Old Hill Ranch diverges from so many other Zinfandels.
What you taste when taste Old Hill Ranch Ancients is in part Zinfandel, a large part of course, and a smidgen of Grenache, and Tempranillo, and Grand Noir, and who knows what else, though if you take a look at the vine by vine map of the vineyard <<http://www.buckzin.com/sonoma-vineyard.html>> you can get a pretty good idea of what goes into each vintage. That helps explain what makes the wine but when you taste the wine you are tasting something special. You are tasting Old Hill Ranch. You are tasting a place and a time. It is one of the great expressions of terroir in this country and in all the world. It is an American Icon.
Strong words perhaps, but I am convinced.
[PAGEBREAK]
The complete story of the Old Hill ranch must be equally fascinating, though perhaps not right for inclusion here. It’s worth noting that through the Bucklin’s stewardship the property has been brought back to life. Some 30 plus years ago when the family bought the property is was already a classic old vine vineyard. Classic in the sense that the vines were struggling, yielding some half ton of fruit an acre and struggling to survive. Change was slow, as was the acquisition of knowledge in those pre internet days. Some 30 plus years ago the family decided to begin farming organically, and slowly, as Will Bucklin relates, they became aware of some of the forces that drive the vines. A plan for soil enrichment was developed, one that over the years has supported the vines to produce up to about two tons an acres in a vigorous year.
I used the term stewardship earlier and you get the sense very clearly that this is what is happening here. There is a palpable feeling that the goal of the Bucklin’s is to perpetuate what they have, with the full understanding that what they have is very special. It seems rather mundane at first glance. Thirty acres, some old vines, and a rolling meadow, but the truth is much more complex. Of course there are the 26 or so varieties of vines planted on the property but walk with Will Bucklin down through the vines and you become aware of subtle and abrupt changes in the soil, the way the sun hits the back of your neck and the angle at which the breeze floats up the valley.
We tend to think of this day and age as something special. Something precise and definitive, but what we forget is that before we were able to exchange so much knowledge so easily we were able to exchange very specific knowledge very slowly and precisely. Somehow pioneers in these northern Californian valleys were able to figure out where the ideal places to plant vines were. This piece of dirt, taking up virtually the entire width of the Sonoma Valley floor just miles north of the city of Sonoma is one of those ideal places. We look at this mess of vines today and wonder what they were thinking. How did this planting make sense? And yet, they were thinking, some 150 or so years ago. Perhaps without knowing it they found this place that would nurture and protect vines for longer than anyone could have expected. This place that turned out to offer such a unique and varied range of soils that each corner of the vineyard behaves like a different vineyard, yet bring all the pieces together and you have what could only some from this one place. This Old Hill Ranch.
The old vine Old Hill Zin is not the only wine made here, and today is easily identified by the addition of the word Ancients on the label. There is also a younger vine field blend, along with Grenache, Cabernet a rose and a Petite Sirah that will beat your ass. These are all relatively big wines, the Cabernet perhaps the least so within its paradigm, the amazingly rocky soils in that part of the vineyard no doubt playing a role there. It is easy to see how some people will not like these wines, and I fully understand that, but for those of us who can appreciate this style this is a compelling line-up well worth the effort of tracking down.
[PAGEBREAK]
2012 Bucklin Rose 12.8% $20
Grenache 51%, Syrah 8%, Zin 26%, Carignane 5%, Mourvedre 10%
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-rose-old-hill-ranch-sonoma-2012/
Incredible floral notes, garrigue, Provençal herbs, orange rind and strawberry all come together on the nose. There’s a little fruity roundness and a touch of sweetness on entry followed by good acidity, round and fleshy with spicy Grenache red fruit on the palate then some plums and darker berries on the long finish along with a little candied note, but savory candy. A lovely fruity but not frooty wine that is a touch chewy for a rose. 89pts
2011 Bucklin Cabernet Sauvignon 13.8% $30
70% new oak, all French
Smoky, earthy, and inky on the nose with an attractive black olive and szechuan peppercorn spice accent on the nose. This smells like dirt. In the mouth there is no fat heres. It’s all lean, focused and rich, with a round supple mouthfeel up front, clean, fresh and edgy on the midpalate with lovely blackberry fruit, turning long, mineral and a little chocolatey on the backend and through the nutty finish. This is a bit tart and lean but attractively so and should benefit from 2 or 3 years in the bottle. 90pts
2010 Bucklin Cabernet Sauvignon 14.3% $30
80% new oak, all French
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-cabernet-sauvignon-sonoma-county-old-hill-ranch-2010/
Shows more wood on the nose than the 2011 and this remains tight and relatively unevolved. With lots of wood tannins in the mouth this is rich and firm with a fine core of blueberry and black cherry fruit that leads to a long wood spice supported finish. This is fairly sweet oak, but it’s not shy and leads to a tough chewy finish. There’s a lovely violet floral aromatic note in the mouth a well adding freshness and lift. In abstract a better wne that the 2011 but I’m not sure I prefer it. 91pts
2010 Bucklin Old Hill Grenache 15.3% $38
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-grenache-sonoma-valley-old-hill-ranch-2010/
From the website: “130 year old Grenache vines are selectively harvested from the ancient field-blend and then co-fermented with a small amount of Alicante Bouchet, Carignane, and Mourvedre, among several other “mixed black” varieties. The blend is 80% Grenache.“
Huge nose, briary, fennel, pollen, steel, jammy and spicy blackberry and wild strawberry all over nutty base notes. Perhaps a little thick in the mouth but actually fairly energetic considering how rich and deep the fruit, is. Filled with muscular, root beer tinged black cherry fruit supported by supple tannins and integrated acids, this is long and powerful with liquory fruit that gains nuanced dried herb and slight medicinal accents on the long finish. This needs grilled wild boar. 93pts
2008 Bucklin Old Hill Grenache 15.1% $NA
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-grenache-old-hill-sonoma-2008/
Very pretty nose is a bit low key but floral and meaty, lighter than the 2010. This is mineral, fresh and clear on the palate with an early little root beer, note followed by a little wild cherry, some clay earth tones, a bit of pencil lead. Fairly tannic both fruit tannins and wood tannin with a lively long sneaky red raspberry finish, there’s a nice core of sweet fruit here, though this is far more restrained than the 2010. 90pts
2011 Bucklin Zinfandel Bambino Field Blend 13.8% $24
Lovely natural yeast aromas accent the aromatic and savory briary fruit on the nose and this sort of reminds me of Dashes Les Enfant Terrible. Light, fresh and juicy in the mouth there are angular little tannins and fine acidity supporting briary olive wood and black spice framed black cherry and blackberry fruit that is zesty with excellent black cherry skin character on the backend. This has a natural fruit feel, brambly and dark with a little bit of extract on the moderately long finish. 90pts
2000 Bucklin Old Hill Zinfandel 15.2% $NA
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-zinfandel-sonoma-county-old-hill-ranch-2000/
Still decidedly fruity on the nose in briary, way and perhaps a little woody but still fresh with creamy black cherry fruit, forest floor, licorice, and mineral aromas. Also still a bit tannic in the mouth and nicely bright, with clear black cherry fruit, rich and a little rustic showing some old wood notes and with some alcohol showing but the spiced cherry flavors on the backend and through the finish remain attractive. Shows some weight on the moderately long finish. 91pts
2009 Bucklin Old Hill Zinfandel Ancient Field Blend 15.8% $34
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-old-hill-ranch-zinfandel-ancient-field-blend-2009/
This has another gear, with a nose filled with briar wood, grilled beef, violet pastille, earth, wild flowers, and some white pepper spice all layered over rich earthy berry fruit. Seamless, powerful, deep and chewy on the palate, this gives a fine old viney palate impression filled with mineral infused blackberry flavors, notes of aromatic pipe tobacco, leather, wood spice, blackberry and a touch of RC cola as well. Just packed with masses of fruit and layers of complexity,with an attractive edge of rusticity. There’s a little heat here and it’s easy to knock the wine for it, but there’s simply too much else going on for that to matter much. 94pts
2010 Bucklin Old Hill Zinfandel Ancient Field Blend 15.8% $34
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-old-hill-ranch-zinfandel-ancient-field-blend-2010/
This smells great filled with precise aromas of black pepper, blue floral notes, high toned spicy accents and rich huckleberry blackberry and wood spice notes. Smooth and polished on entry, then turning dense and chewy and a bit folded in on itself. This is one deep, weird wine, not Zinfandel in many ways but hitting more of my Languedoc buttons, are more like Syrah, all earthy, deep, a little beefy and spicy and rich but not fruity rich. The long finish is more true to type, more briary fruit and finely ripe blackberry fruit driven with a bit of tangy boysenberry on the lightly medicinal and aromatic finish that shows hints of violets and cinnamon. This is so complete and so complex, tannic and chewy but fruit is so bold that one hardly notices. Definitely has great potential to improve but already is just a stunning field blend. 95pts
2009 Bucklin Mixed Blacks 15.8% $34
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-red-blend-sonoma-valley-mixed-blacks-2009/
Vry black fruited on the nose with dark spice notes, jammy and yet cool with dried floral base notes and a little oak spice. Smooth, rich and chewy in the mouth, this is fairly easy drinking with lots of blue and black fruit, a little bitter cherry edge and hints of root beer on the palate. This is a bit shorter in the mouth than the previous wines though it does have a nice tight knit knit structure to it and an innate sweetness tot he fruit that emerges on the finish. 88pts
2009 Bucklin Old Hill Ranch Petite Sirah 14.6% $28
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-bambino-old-hill-ranch-zinfandel-carignan-zinfandel-petite-sirah-syrah-alicante-bouschet-grenache-sonoma-county-sonoma-valley-2009/
Only vintage made
Rather rich in the nose and filled with aromas of blackberry pie, India ink, african violets, and white pepper. This is very fleshy on entry, rich, smooth, and powerful though with super balance. It’s filled with blue fruit and bitter cherry notes with a dense and chewy mouthfeel that reminds me of brownies, heck there’s even some brownie flavors here! Palate staining and extracted this will beat your ass with it’s long, deep briary fruit and massive finish. Age it forever. 93pts
I’ll follow up soon with an actual article on Zinfandel but today I am side tracked. Side tracked by wine that fell outside of my box, so to speak. The box I came to California to fill. The great Zinfandel box. As I mentioned I love ZInfandel, even named two producers as Snooth’s Producer of the Year in both 2011 and 2012. Such is my love for the grape and admiration for those who produce it. In planning my current trip I was able to pack the list with some of my favorite producers, though a few were too busy with crush, which seems to have ended for most folks just this past week, the week of October 20th as I write this. None the less I was able to put together a compelling list, and have been working my way through my visits, generally quite delighted by the wines I’ve been trying. And then there was my visit to the Old Hill Ranch with Will Bucklin.
First off let me say that walking through the freshly broken earth among those ancient vines was, while not a religious experience, somewhat hallowed. This is history. Vines stretching back well over a century. A crazy patchwork of varieties seemingly planted without rhyme or reason, clones gathered from who knows where. And of wines produced from this piece of dirt that have crossed my lips, all came flooding back to mind.
You see while I have always been a fan of Zinfandel, and have had some really great Zins in my life, my epiphany ZIn having been the 1981 Edmeads DuPratt consumed extensively through the late 1980s. But it wasn’t until the early 1992 that I took the time to explore Zinfandel and discover how good the wines could be.
I discovered, among other things, that Zinfandel had a voice. Certainly producers took stylistic liberty with Zin. There was everything from Beaujolais style Zin through dry port styled Zin back in the day, as there remains today to a certain extent. This flexibility of course should be applauded and exalted as an attribute of a uniquely constituted variety, but I learned more than that back in the day. I learned about terroir before that term was bandied about.
[PAGEBREAK]
When made in a well judged style, neither too light nor too ripe, Zinfandel is capable of displaying striking terroir. European levels of terroir, though many are surely snickering at the thought. Think about it though. Not only do the Zins of Lodi, Amador County, and Dry Creek Valley each, communally have something unique and distinctive to say, but when you drill down within a county you’ll find that there are Vineyards that also have a voice. That carry traits from vintage to vintage, and even more importantly from producer to producer.
There is no other wine in the US that can offer the average consumer the kind of terroir education that Zinfandel can, especially at it’s relatively modest price point. That is part of what makes Zinfandel special to me. An important wine for me. And then of course there is the fact that I really enjoy the wines as well. I find many to be simply delicious, and when served with the right foods they can work magically at the table.
All this serves simply as a lead in though. Sit down at the wood table that passes for a tasting room in Will Bucklin’s barn and taste the Old Hill Ranch Ancient vines. Taste it in the middle of several days tasting Zinfandel. It says Zinfandel on the label. It is not Zin. Tasting this wine I can’t help but think of two things. First of all this is not Zinfandel. It may be labeled as Zinfandel but I’ve tasted enough Zinfandel to recognize it when I taste it and this simply isn’t Zinfandel.
My second through is bound to be more controversial than my first, though not by much. When tasting the wine, in particular the very young 2011 Old Hill, what comes to mind is Syrah. Northern Rhone Syrah in fact, and from a very good traditional producer at that. Now this wine tastes very little like the wine I am thinking of , and yet as I search my wine memory that is where I end up. I realize later that what I was searching for was another wine with the size of this wine that had such energy and life and inner mouth perfume. A wine rich like this yet with such an array of savory flavors layered over the base of fruit. This is where Old Hill Ranch diverges from so many other Zinfandels.
What you taste when taste Old Hill Ranch Ancients is in part Zinfandel, a large part of course, and a smidgen of Grenache, and Tempranillo, and Grand Noir, and who knows what else, though if you take a look at the vine by vine map of the vineyard <<http://www.buckzin.com/sonoma-vineyard.html>> you can get a pretty good idea of what goes into each vintage. That helps explain what makes the wine but when you taste the wine you are tasting something special. You are tasting Old Hill Ranch. You are tasting a place and a time. It is one of the great expressions of terroir in this country and in all the world. It is an American Icon.
Strong words perhaps, but I am convinced.
[PAGEBREAK]
The complete story of the Old Hill ranch must be equally fascinating, though perhaps not right for inclusion here. It’s worth noting that through the Bucklin’s stewardship the property has been brought back to life. Some 30 plus years ago when the family bought the property is was already a classic old vine vineyard. Classic in the sense that the vines were struggling, yielding some half ton of fruit an acre and struggling to survive. Change was slow, as was the acquisition of knowledge in those pre internet days. Some 30 plus years ago the family decided to begin farming organically, and slowly, as Will Bucklin relates, they became aware of some of the forces that drive the vines. A plan for soil enrichment was developed, one that over the years has supported the vines to produce up to about two tons an acres in a vigorous year.
I used the term stewardship earlier and you get the sense very clearly that this is what is happening here. There is a palpable feeling that the goal of the Bucklin’s is to perpetuate what they have, with the full understanding that what they have is very special. It seems rather mundane at first glance. Thirty acres, some old vines, and a rolling meadow, but the truth is much more complex. Of course there are the 26 or so varieties of vines planted on the property but walk with Will Bucklin down through the vines and you become aware of subtle and abrupt changes in the soil, the way the sun hits the back of your neck and the angle at which the breeze floats up the valley.
We tend to think of this day and age as something special. Something precise and definitive, but what we forget is that before we were able to exchange so much knowledge so easily we were able to exchange very specific knowledge very slowly and precisely. Somehow pioneers in these northern Californian valleys were able to figure out where the ideal places to plant vines were. This piece of dirt, taking up virtually the entire width of the Sonoma Valley floor just miles north of the city of Sonoma is one of those ideal places. We look at this mess of vines today and wonder what they were thinking. How did this planting make sense? And yet, they were thinking, some 150 or so years ago. Perhaps without knowing it they found this place that would nurture and protect vines for longer than anyone could have expected. This place that turned out to offer such a unique and varied range of soils that each corner of the vineyard behaves like a different vineyard, yet bring all the pieces together and you have what could only some from this one place. This Old Hill Ranch.
The old vine Old Hill Zin is not the only wine made here, and today is easily identified by the addition of the word Ancients on the label. There is also a younger vine field blend, along with Grenache, Cabernet a rose and a Petite Sirah that will beat your ass. These are all relatively big wines, the Cabernet perhaps the least so within its paradigm, the amazingly rocky soils in that part of the vineyard no doubt playing a role there. It is easy to see how some people will not like these wines, and I fully understand that, but for those of us who can appreciate this style this is a compelling line-up well worth the effort of tracking down.
[PAGEBREAK]
2012 Bucklin Rose 12.8% $20
Grenache 51%, Syrah 8%, Zin 26%, Carignane 5%, Mourvedre 10%
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-rose-old-hill-ranch-sonoma-2012/
Incredible floral notes, garrigue, Provençal herbs, orange rind and strawberry all come together on the nose. There’s a little fruity roundness and a touch of sweetness on entry followed by good acidity, round and fleshy with spicy Grenache red fruit on the palate then some plums and darker berries on the long finish along with a little candied note, but savory candy. A lovely fruity but not frooty wine that is a touch chewy for a rose. 89pts
2011 Bucklin Cabernet Sauvignon 13.8% $30
70% new oak, all French
Smoky, earthy, and inky on the nose with an attractive black olive and szechuan peppercorn spice accent on the nose. This smells like dirt. In the mouth there is no fat heres. It’s all lean, focused and rich, with a round supple mouthfeel up front, clean, fresh and edgy on the midpalate with lovely blackberry fruit, turning long, mineral and a little chocolatey on the backend and through the nutty finish. This is a bit tart and lean but attractively so and should benefit from 2 or 3 years in the bottle. 90pts
2010 Bucklin Cabernet Sauvignon 14.3% $30
80% new oak, all French
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-cabernet-sauvignon-sonoma-county-old-hill-ranch-2010/
Shows more wood on the nose than the 2011 and this remains tight and relatively unevolved. With lots of wood tannins in the mouth this is rich and firm with a fine core of blueberry and black cherry fruit that leads to a long wood spice supported finish. This is fairly sweet oak, but it’s not shy and leads to a tough chewy finish. There’s a lovely violet floral aromatic note in the mouth a well adding freshness and lift. In abstract a better wne that the 2011 but I’m not sure I prefer it. 91pts
2010 Bucklin Old Hill Grenache 15.3% $38
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-grenache-sonoma-valley-old-hill-ranch-2010/
From the website: “130 year old Grenache vines are selectively harvested from the ancient field-blend and then co-fermented with a small amount of Alicante Bouchet, Carignane, and Mourvedre, among several other “mixed black” varieties. The blend is 80% Grenache.“
Huge nose, briary, fennel, pollen, steel, jammy and spicy blackberry and wild strawberry all over nutty base notes. Perhaps a little thick in the mouth but actually fairly energetic considering how rich and deep the fruit, is. Filled with muscular, root beer tinged black cherry fruit supported by supple tannins and integrated acids, this is long and powerful with liquory fruit that gains nuanced dried herb and slight medicinal accents on the long finish. This needs grilled wild boar. 93pts
2008 Bucklin Old Hill Grenache 15.1% $NA
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-grenache-old-hill-sonoma-2008/
Very pretty nose is a bit low key but floral and meaty, lighter than the 2010. This is mineral, fresh and clear on the palate with an early little root beer, note followed by a little wild cherry, some clay earth tones, a bit of pencil lead. Fairly tannic both fruit tannins and wood tannin with a lively long sneaky red raspberry finish, there’s a nice core of sweet fruit here, though this is far more restrained than the 2010. 90pts
2011 Bucklin Zinfandel Bambino Field Blend 13.8% $24
Lovely natural yeast aromas accent the aromatic and savory briary fruit on the nose and this sort of reminds me of Dashes Les Enfant Terrible. Light, fresh and juicy in the mouth there are angular little tannins and fine acidity supporting briary olive wood and black spice framed black cherry and blackberry fruit that is zesty with excellent black cherry skin character on the backend. This has a natural fruit feel, brambly and dark with a little bit of extract on the moderately long finish. 90pts
2000 Bucklin Old Hill Zinfandel 15.2% $NA
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-zinfandel-sonoma-county-old-hill-ranch-2000/
Still decidedly fruity on the nose in briary, way and perhaps a little woody but still fresh with creamy black cherry fruit, forest floor, licorice, and mineral aromas. Also still a bit tannic in the mouth and nicely bright, with clear black cherry fruit, rich and a little rustic showing some old wood notes and with some alcohol showing but the spiced cherry flavors on the backend and through the finish remain attractive. Shows some weight on the moderately long finish. 91pts
2009 Bucklin Old Hill Zinfandel Ancient Field Blend 15.8% $34
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-old-hill-ranch-zinfandel-ancient-field-blend-2009/
This has another gear, with a nose filled with briar wood, grilled beef, violet pastille, earth, wild flowers, and some white pepper spice all layered over rich earthy berry fruit. Seamless, powerful, deep and chewy on the palate, this gives a fine old viney palate impression filled with mineral infused blackberry flavors, notes of aromatic pipe tobacco, leather, wood spice, blackberry and a touch of RC cola as well. Just packed with masses of fruit and layers of complexity,with an attractive edge of rusticity. There’s a little heat here and it’s easy to knock the wine for it, but there’s simply too much else going on for that to matter much. 94pts
2010 Bucklin Old Hill Zinfandel Ancient Field Blend 15.8% $34
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-old-hill-ranch-zinfandel-ancient-field-blend-2010/
This smells great filled with precise aromas of black pepper, blue floral notes, high toned spicy accents and rich huckleberry blackberry and wood spice notes. Smooth and polished on entry, then turning dense and chewy and a bit folded in on itself. This is one deep, weird wine, not Zinfandel in many ways but hitting more of my Languedoc buttons, are more like Syrah, all earthy, deep, a little beefy and spicy and rich but not fruity rich. The long finish is more true to type, more briary fruit and finely ripe blackberry fruit driven with a bit of tangy boysenberry on the lightly medicinal and aromatic finish that shows hints of violets and cinnamon. This is so complete and so complex, tannic and chewy but fruit is so bold that one hardly notices. Definitely has great potential to improve but already is just a stunning field blend. 95pts
2009 Bucklin Mixed Blacks 15.8% $34
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-red-blend-sonoma-valley-mixed-blacks-2009/
Vry black fruited on the nose with dark spice notes, jammy and yet cool with dried floral base notes and a little oak spice. Smooth, rich and chewy in the mouth, this is fairly easy drinking with lots of blue and black fruit, a little bitter cherry edge and hints of root beer on the palate. This is a bit shorter in the mouth than the previous wines though it does have a nice tight knit knit structure to it and an innate sweetness tot he fruit that emerges on the finish. 88pts
2009 Bucklin Old Hill Ranch Petite Sirah 14.6% $28
http://www.snooth.com/wine/bucklin-bambino-old-hill-ranch-zinfandel-carignan-zinfandel-petite-sirah-syrah-alicante-bouschet-grenache-sonoma-county-sonoma-valley-2009/
Only vintage made
Rather rich in the nose and filled with aromas of blackberry pie, India ink, african violets, and white pepper. This is very fleshy on entry, rich, smooth, and powerful though with super balance. It’s filled with blue fruit and bitter cherry notes with a dense and chewy mouthfeel that reminds me of brownies, heck there’s even some brownie flavors here! Palate staining and extracted this will beat your ass with it’s long, deep briary fruit and massive finish. Age it forever. 93pts