Puccioni Wines chosen on the Ultimate Thanksgiving Wine List

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Wine List

November 23, 2016 By Snooth Editorial

Read more: http://www.snooth.com/articles/the-ultimate-thanksgiving-wine-list/?viewall=1#ixzz4RjPOqg1x

 Zinfandel

Thanksgiving is the most American of Holidays. Zinfandel, the most American of grape varieties is my choice to serve alongside the bounty that adorns the traditional Thanksgiving table. It’s supremely important however to choose your Zinfandel wisely. In this instance you want a classic Zinfandel that’s made in a proportionate style. It’ll be loaded with plenty of eager fruit flavors that will play well alongside Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and all the rest. Avoid big, overly jam-laden Zinfandels that are more like cocktails than wine. Dry Creek Valley is the region with the largest concentration of great Zinfandel in the world; pick your Thanksgiving Zinfandel from their abundance of Family producers. Puccioni 2013 Old Vine Zinfandel ($30): The heart of their Estate Vineyard is vines with more than 100 years of age on them. Puccioni is a genuinely boutique winery that is family owned and run. They produce just a few hundred cases each of two wines, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, both outstanding. Each vintage these wines (which were always delicious) have been getting better and better, the 2013 offerings continues that upward trend. Ripe black cherry and an abundance of spices dot the welcoming nose. The juicy palate shows off oodles of deep, dark flavors such as blackberry and black raspberry. Black pepper and wisps of black olive are present as well. All of those flavors continue on the lingering finish along with a dusting of dark chocolate. Well integrated tannins and firm acid provide terrific structure. This succulent, hard to resist Zinfandel is delicious now but don’t hesitate to lay it down for a decade. If you want to know what real Zinfandel tastes like, look no further than this beauty from Puccioni winemaker Glenn Proctor.

Gabe Sasso
Gabe’s View

Read more: http://www.snooth.com/articles/the-ultimate-thanksgiving-wine-list/?viewall=1#ixzz4RjPEU0oY

Ratings of our 2013 Puccioni Wines - 94 and 92 Points

Puccioni 2013 Petite Sirah

By Richard Jennings
10/5/2016     94 points

(Puccioni Petite Sirah) Saturated, opaque, black-tinged red violet color; aromatic, tar, dark chocolate, tart berry nose; tight, delicious, black currant, tart berry palate with good balancing acidity; needs 3 years; medium-plus finish (14% alcohol)


Puccioni 2013 Old Vine Zinfandel

By Richard Jennings
10/5/2016      92 points

(Puccioni Zinfandel Old Vine) Saturated, very dark black-tinged ruby color; savory, herbal, tar, coffee, blueberry nose; tight, tasty, savory, tar, tart wild berry, light pepper palate; needs 3-4 years; long finish (14.9% alcohol) 92+ points

Review of Puccioni Old Vine Zinfandel

Puccioni Vineyards - 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel

Here is a recent review by Gabe and Dry Dry Creek.com - very good guys!!

The Facts:

Glenn Proctor who runs Puccioni Vineyards along with his wife is the fourth generation to grow grapes on the property. Before starting Puccioni Vineyards to showcase the fruit from his family vineyards, Glenn worked for wineries such as Glen Ellen, Benzinger, BV & Sterling, involving himself in many aspects of the grape growing and wine-making business

The 2006 Puccioni Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel is sourced from two vineyards. One site is the Puccioni Vineyard which features 100 year old vines planted by Winemaker Glenn Proctor’s Great Grandfather, over 100 years ago. The other site is the Buchignani Vineyard planted about 50 years ago by their cousins. 260 cases of the 2006 Zinfandel were produced. The suggested retail price is $28.

Gabe’s Take:

The nose of this 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel is loaded with a quartet of aromatics. Cedar, cloves, allspice and vibrant berry jam notes explode from the glass upon pouring. Throughout the palate blackberry pie characteristics are prominent and mouth-filling, joined by earth, bramble and black cherry reference points. Dusty Baker’s chocolate and an absolute avalanche of black pepper emerge on a long, layered and slightly lusty finish that beckons you back to the glass for another sip. Good acidity and firm but yielding tannins frame this well structured Zinfandel.

Several things stood out to me about the Puccioni Old Vine Zinfandel. It’s accessible from the word go; but decanting and giving it some air really allows its charms to blossom and flavors to explode on your palate. Secondly, certain things on a wine label hold special meaning. For me, when I read Old Vine Zinfandel and Dry Creek Valley on the same label I tend to get excited. Having never had any wine from Puccioni Vineyards, before now, I was curious if it would live up to my label expectations. I’m happy to report that this wine is a textbook example of Old Vine Dry Creek Zin. Sometimes people will ask what Old Vine means, I wish I had a bottle of Puccioni to pour for each of them; it would be a lesson in a glass. Finally, while this wine is drinking quite well right now, I wouldn’t be shy about laying it down for 5 years; it has the structure to age.

New Release Special
Thank you for your past support and interest in our handcrafted limited production wines. As Mules, you are the first ones to hear that our 2006 wines will be available February 2009. We know you’ll love what we produced in 2006 – we think this was a great vintage for Puccioni Vineyards!

Our Economic Stimulus Plan:
As always, we want to give our loyal Mules the first opportunity to order our new release wine. Place your order by April 15, 2009, and get a 25% discount on Zin, 20% discount on Petite Sirah, and if you order 2 or more cases get free shipping! What could be better than having some delicious Puccioni wine ready to uncork and enjoy after you send off your tax forms?

WINES AVAILABLE NOW! 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel The grapes for this wine were sourced from 100-year-old vines at the Puccioni Ranch that were planted by our great-grandfather, and 50-year-old vines planted and farmed by our cousins (not sure if they will admit it?) at the Buchignani Vineyard on Dry Creek Road. The wine has lovely aromas of ripe blackberries with hints of violet and cedar, and dark cherry/chocolate flavors balanced with that characteristic Puccioni spice in the finish. This wine is ready to be enjoyed today, but can be aged for a few years too. 260 cases Produced Regular Price $28 ($336/case) 2006 Petite Sirah We are excited to be offering a VERY limited bottling of a vineyard-designated Petite Sirah for the very first time! The grapes came from Lambert Bridge Vineyard (Van Alyea) in the heart of the Dry Creek Valley – just after Lambert Bridge. The wine has deep, dark berry aromas, blueberry and chocolate flavors through the mid palate, finishing with black pepper spice. You can age this wine, but don’t be afraid to drink this Petite Sirah now – why wait?! 50 cases Produced Regular Price $30 ($360/case) WINE ORDER FORM (Fax or Mail)

Updates:
We really like the 2007 wines that will be bottled in a few months, and the 2008 wines are showing some great intensity at a very young age. The Old Vine Zin and Petite Sirah will continue to be our focus with these vintages.
As always we would love to hear from you – what you like, where and with whom you are drinking our wines, and those “I’ll bet you never heard this story before” stories. We are making the wines for you to enjoy and share with your friends and family – because nothing is more special than Friends, Family, and some nice Zin!

Please Note: Habu and Muddy’s pictures are in the new Wine Dogs USA 2 book. Check it out at your local bookstore!

Mule History:
Our family used a Mule and a plow until 1968. My grandfather had four mules through the early and mid 1900s – his favorites were Jack and Prince. Prince, our last mule, always came home at 6pm, whether my grandfather was done in the field or not. You could say we’re as stubborn as Prince when it comes to "doing things the right way”!

Our Story:
Puccioni Vineyards produces hand-crafted Zinfandel wine from our vineyard in the hills of Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley, where we have a long family heritage in the wine business. In 1904, our great-grandfather Angelo bought the property and planted Zinfandel grapes that have been growing there ever since. Our family ran a winery on the property from 1918 to 1935. Puccioni Old Vine Zinfandel is made using those 100-year-old vines and the knowledge passed down from our family’s generations of winegrowers and winemakers.

Salute!
Glenn, Laurie, Joshua & Noah Proctor (Habu & Muddy too…)

Update from ZAP - Great Reviews for 2006

We poured at ZAP two weeks ago - it was a great event as always. My Uncle Angelo Puccioni, and my cousin Allison and her husband Tim helped me pour. We poured the 2005 and 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel - We got a great response on the 2006 - with at least two writers/retailers ranking it in the top five of the entire tasting!!!!!!!!!!! We were extremely happy with that. Also we got a nice write up in the Connoisseurs' Guide - They gave us one puff and an 87 - using the descriptors - gutsy, deep fruit, sweet oak, ripe, extracted - and said it would go well with hearty barbecued meats on the bone.

I will add some pictures with the next post - need to get those from my uncle.

Also you have to love the rain - keep it coming we need it.

Crush Has Begun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been awhile - sorry we have not posted more blogs. My sister called me earlier today and told me my blog is getting dusty!! Now I am in trouble. That must be what happens when you have two kids under three.

Harvest is upon us - we picked some Buchignani Old Vine Zin yesterday. It looks great - we will do a cold soak for three days and then start the fermentation in small open top fermenters. The crop was 50% of what it was last year - the early frost we had and the dry weather have produced a lighter crop throughout Dry Creek.

Things have been getting ripe very quickly - we have had some very warm days and they have caused our Zin to reach maturity much earlier than last year.

We will be picking the fruit off the Old Vines at the Puccioni Ranch at the end of this week and the Lambert Bridge Petite Sirah we buy should come off next week.

We are extremely happy with the quality so far - now it is just managing the fermentations.

We still have a few cases of the 2005 Old Vine Zin left - let us know if you are interested. We will be releasing the 2006 in a few months.

I will work on being more active with my writing.

Be a Mule - Stubborn about Puccioni Wine!!!!!

Thanks Glenn

2005 Puccioni Old Vine Zinfandel Release

We are officially releasing our 2005 Puccioni Old Vine Zinfandel on Dec 15th - but we have made it available to some of the people that have been so supportive of our little brand - and if you order a case by Jan 1st there is a savings available. Just clink on the link below if you want to take a look at our order form.

Link

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Family and Friends yesterday and did a 2004 and 2005 tasting - they seemed to both do fine - but there was a preference with the 2005.

Not sure how many of you hunt for wild mushrooms out there - let me know if you do - but it has been great to far this year. With the early rain and the warm fall weather - the bolete's have been plentiful. If you go, make sure you take somebody that knows what they are doing - it can be dangerous if you pick the wrong one.

We hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving.

Thanks