Nalle Winery
Back in the mid-1980s, when many Zinfandel producers were making big, muscular trophy wines, Doug Nalle and his wife Lee started their winery with the intention of making elegant, lean and complex Zins in the European style of noble red wines. ‘We were following tradition,’ says Doug, ‘using French oak and making wines under 14% alcohol. We wanted the wine to be food-friendly.’
They had good fruit to work with. Their property included 0.6ha of old Zin vines planted in 1927 by Lee’s great-grandparents, Fred and Ruby Henderlong. Today that fruit is augmented with Zinfandel from the BernierSibary vineyard, 8km north. Both sites are dryfarmed and the vines head-trained, with some Petite Sirah and Carignan in the field blends.
Doug, and now his son Andrew and daughter-in-law April, the current winemakers and proprietors, achieved this elegant style by picking the fruit at its initial burst of ripeness. ‘We sort at the picking bins and again when we get the fruit into the winery, looking to discard any overripe berries,’ says Andrew. April adds: ‘Younger folks in the tasting room are looking for low-alcohol wines that are nicely balanced.’ It’s a trend other Zinfandel producers have noticed, too (see box p75).
Nalle, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County 2016 94
£ 29 (2014) Domaine Direct
Nalle wines show Zinfandel’s nobility. The variety’s natural blackcurrant and raspberry fruit exuberance is tamed by early picking, yielding bright acidity for long ageing. Its earthiness (combined with 5% each of Petite Sirah and Carignan) harmonises with roses and herbs. 2020-2036 Alc 13.9%