Ballentine 2018 Estate Reserve Zinfandel Napa Valley

Our reserve Zinfandel is one of the most concentrated and expressive lots of wine that we produce in a given year. Always the last of our picks of Zinfandel, it is generally one of the ripest lots of the year. In the winery we maintain an early aggressive pump over regime that slowly tapers off to a gentle sprinkle as the alcohol builds and the wine develops. This wine is aged in new French Oak for flavor and body development, and new American oak for a spicy complexity and middle palate.

The 2018 Reserve Zinfandel has a great nose that reminds us of a warm berry pie. This wine has aromas of cranberries and raspberries with pepper, spruce and mint also. There is a concentration of berries about this wine, and a complexity to its spice. The wine explodes on the palate with many flavors including plum, cola and rhubarb. There is a smooth silky nature to the wine with a voluptuous body. The finish lingers for quite some time with flavors of clove and raspberry.