2022 BACA Cat's Cradle Zinfandel

$50.00

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Critic Reviews

1 of 3

94 POINTS
Wine Spectator, Tim Fish

"Polished and richly structured, with jammy raspberry flavors accented by notes of baking spices and licorice as this strides toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032."

2022 BACA Cat's Cradle Zinfandel

Tasting notes

This wine from the Rockpile AVA features aromas of ripe bramble berries, meadow flowers, and star anise. The generous palate carries elegant weight and a sweet/savory note of salted dark chocolate, leading to a deliciously supple finish.

  • Bramble Berries
  • Meadow Flowers
  • Star Anise
  • Salted Dark Chocolate
Map of California highlighting the location of the Rockpile AVA

Vineyard notes

Rockpile AVA

Harsh, exposed, and rocky at 1,200 feet above Lake Sonoma, this otherworldly environment reflects the struggle that defines great wine.

Remote Hillside Terrain

When you're here you'd swear you're on another planet — a remote, slope-side vineyard unlike anywhere else in California.

Minerality and Structure

Wines from this site are known for their unique minerality, brambly fruit, and intense tannic structure.

Wine Facts

Located in the remote northwestern corner of Sonoma County that spans over 15,000 acres, the Rockpile AVA is sparsely planted with only 190 acres of vineyards. Grown in an almost otherworldly landscape, the wine from these mountain slopes is defined by brambly fruit, a unique minerality, and an intense tannic structure. Harsh, exposed, rocky, and 1200 feet above sea level, this environment reflects the struggle that defines great wine.

Bottle Size

750ml

Vineyard Designation

Rockpile, Sonoma County

Appellation

Rockpile and Sonoma County

Vintage Notes

The 2022 vintage wines are immediately appealing, showing fruit-forward aromatics, breadth, and sophistication. Even in the third year of drought, good vine growth was a pleasant surprise. Heavy rains started at the end of November, continued into early December, dried down, and arrived again near bud break, resaturating the soils. Frost in March contributed to a lighter crop. By July the season was tracking on the warmish side indicating an earlier harvest. Temperate weather was interrupted by a big heat wave in early September, which propelled earlier ripening sites into a fast-paced harvest window.

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