Sweet, rich Salvation - always limited ...
Alexander Valley Vineyards and the Wetzel family have a long history with Zinfandel. The legacy began in 1978 when with our first vintage of Sin Zin. Over the years we often talked about producing a late harvest dessert wine. A dry fall, long hang-time, and a special vineyard site allow us to produce this dessert wine.
The 2019 growing season began with cooler temperatures, but there were no unusual temperature swings during bud break or flowering. Moderate temperatures continued through the summer, allowing the grapes to mature gradually. After 2018’s record setting crop size, 2019 swung back to an average yield. The mild weather led to a longer maturation period, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly while reaching the high brix level needed for a dessert wine.
The grapes for the seventh vintage of Salvation Zinfandel were harvested from a tiny two-acre vineyard on the east side of Lytton Station Road. The Whipp-Vandenberg Vineyard, also known as the SVWW block, was planted in 1981 and was purchased in 2000 by Wendy Whipp and Stewart Vandenberg.
On the morning of October 12th friends and family hand-picked the low yielding site, selecting the ripest clusters to maintain the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity in the finished wine. At the winery, the fruit was de-stemmed and fermented in half ton macrobins for quite a long time due to the high sugar level. After a light pressing the wine was cave aged in three older American oak barrels preserving the moderate tannins.
The 2019 Salvation almost looks like a tawny port. However, this late harvest Zinfandel is filled with aromas of brown sugar, dried fruit, molasses, dark chocolate, toasted hazelnut, and hints of apricot. Spicy flavors of brown sugar, candied cherry, blueberry, black cherry, and chocolate fill the glass. Toasted nuts complete the long, complex finish. Always small production, this gem sells out quickly each year.
