Bucklin Old Hill Ranch
The 4.9ha of ancient vines at Will Bucklin’s
Old Hill Ranch in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County, were planted in the 1880s, after phylloxera wiped out the original vines planted in 1852. At 140 years old, some of them cling to life on spindly trunks, while others are thick and massive. All of them carry history on their gnarled shoulders right into the glass, where you can taste it.
William McPherson Hill came west in 1849, but he didn’t toil for gold. Instead, he made his money selling food and equipment to the miners. With peaches sold at $2 each, he soon had enough money to buy extensive land in Sonoma Valley, and today’s ancient-vine field blend is a remnant of his land holding.
The Hill ranch was sold to Will’s grandfather Otto, an early environmentalist whose farming method was ‘benign neglect’. When deer would nibble the vines and fruit, Will says his grandfather’s response was: ‘A deer’s gotta eat, too.’
Thankfully, the vineyard survived. Ampelographers have identified between 28-35 different varieties mixed in with the 65% Zinfandel. ‘We even have an unknown vine,’ says Will. ‘It doesn’t show up in any other vineyard and no one has ever identified it.’ It adds a note of mystery to wine handed down to us from the century before last.
Bucklin Old Hill Ranch, Ancient Field Blend, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County 2017 93
N/A UK www. buckzin.com
This Old Hill Ranch cuvée (about 65% Zinfandel, plus others including Grenache, Alicante Bouschet, Petite
Sirah and Grand Noir) offers ethereal violet and crushed-pepper aromas, and a characteristic terroir note of eucalyptus, cardamom, dried leaves, earth, yeast and cloves. Dark-fruit flavours are seductively rich, as though the volcanic and seabed-derived soil is sending a message from times gone by. Vines were planted in the 1880s. Drink 2020-2026 Alc 15.3%