LEONARD ZINFANDEL
Branding our strong family name, Leonard, alongside the aggressive ‘rampant lion’ signifies the dense and structured palate found on our Zinfandel wines. The round and finessed frame of the ‘rampant lion’ shares the same construct as our palate as a whole, density overlaid with grace and texture. This myriad of masculine and feminine attributes stimulates the mind beyond the wine’s succulent finish. As such our ‘rampant lion’ examines a glass of wine with discern.
Our long-standing Zinfandel sites; Rustridge Vineyard of Chiles Valley AVA and Branham Vineyard of Rockpile AVA.
Old vine Zinfandel at Rustridge Vineyard. By strategically removing leaves and excess clusters, we are dedicated to growing concentrated fruit 1,000 feet up in the Eastern mountains of Napa Valley.
An American heritage grape, Zinfandel has deep roots in the California wine industry as the energy surrounding the production and consumption of this red wine varietal dates back to the 1848 California Gold Rush. The Italian varietal Primitivo and the Croatian varietal Crljenak Kastelanski are genetically identical to the American varietal Zinfandel, however California grown Zinfandel behaves with an identifiable exotic personality and results in great red wines of distinction when crafted by dedicated grape growers and winemakers.
To be clear, both low yielding century old Zinfandel vineyards and spirited younger Zinfandel vineyards are currently being ripped out across Northern California and replanted with the price fetching Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. Further distancing the consumer from meaningful examples of the varietal, many Zinfandel vineyards remaining in production tend to be picked very late in the growing season to create ultra-ripe, fruity and simple, approacheable, and alcoholic wines that are destined to flood grocery stores across America. We encourage you to discover our brand, Leonard, which diligently avoids high ripeness levels thereby producing rare, classically structured Northern California Zinfandel wines built to age and elegantly express the nuances of their powerful vineyard sites.
Though all our concentrated fruit is picked early to avoid high levels of ripeness, any raisins that may have developed in our Zinfandel clusters will be largely removed by the rigorous process of ‘cluster sorting’, destemming, and then ‘berry sorting’. A raisin free Zinfandel fermentation allows the healthy, concentrated berries to truly express the vineyard site.
LEONARD ZINFANDEL
Our long-standing Zinfandel sites; Rustridge Vineyard of Chiles
Valley AVA and Branham Vineyard of Rockpile AVA.
Branding our strong family name, Leonard, alongside the aggressive ‘rampant lion’ signifies the dense and structured palate found on our Zinfandel wines. The round and finessed frame of the ‘rampant lion’ shares the same construct as our palate as a whole, density overlaid with grace and texture. This myriad of masculine and feminine attributes stimulates the mind beyond the wine’s succulent finish. As such our ‘rampant lion’ examines a glass of wine with discern.
Old vine Zinfandel at Rustridge Vineyard. By strategically removing leaves and excess clusters, we are dedicated to growing concentrated fruit 1,000 feet up in the Eastern mountains of Napa Valley.
An American heritage grape, Zinfandel has deep roots in the California wine industry as the energy surrounding the production and consumption of this red wine varietal dates back to the 1848 California Gold Rush. The Italian varietal Primitivo and the Croatian varietal Crljenak Kastelanski are genetically identical to the American varietal Zinfandel, however California grown Zinfandel behaves with an identifiable exotic personality and results in great red wines of distinction when crafted by dedicated grape growers and winemakers.
Though all our concentrated fruit is picked early to avoid high levels of ripeness, any raisins that may have developed in our Zinfandel clusters will be largely removed by the rigorous process of ‘cluster sorting’, destemming, and then ‘berry sorting’. A raisin free Zinfandel fermentation allows the healthy, concentrated berries to truly express the vineyard site.
To be clear, both low yielding century old Zinfandel vineyards and spirited younger Zinfandel vineyards are currently being ripped out across Northern California and replanted with the price fetching Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. Further distancing the consumer from meaningful examples of the varietal, many Zinfandel vineyards remaining in production tend to be picked very late in the growing season to create ultra-ripe, fruity and simple, approacheable, and alcoholic wines that are destined to flood grocery stores across America. We encourage you to discover our brand, Leonard, which diligently avoids high ripeness levels thereby producing rare, classically structured Northern California Zinfandel wines built to age and elegantly express the nuances of their powerful vineyard sites.