Limerick Lane Winery is in the Russian River Valley just south of the town of Healdsburg.The Del Fava family planted the oldest currently producing vineyard at Limerick Lane in 1910, a field blend consisting mostly of Zinfandel. In 1977, the Del Favas sold their thirty acre property to brothers Michael and Tom Collins. The two brothers began by selling some of the grapes to local wineries including De Loach, Ravenswood and Gary Farrell. In 1985, Limerick Lane Cellars was created. By 2009, Mike Collins was ready to sell and asked his neighbor Jake Bilbro if he would like to buy Limerick Lane and the Collins Vineyard. For two years Jake pitched nearly every bank in California before a local bank in Healdsburg finally agreed to give him the loan.
The property is just south of Healdsburg at the end of Limerick Lane. The vineyard was planted around 1910 by Mario Del Fava and has only been farmed by 3 families in the last 100 years. The fruit goes to Limerick Lane, Carlisle, AldenAlli, Matthiasson and Bedrock.
1023 is a blend of the most dramatic, the most striking and compelling lots that Limerick Lane produces in a given vintage. Blended without varietal restriction, the goal is quite simply to produce the best wine possible. 1023 is also a reference to the winery address at 1023 Limerick Lane. 2016 was the last vintage of 1023. The current iteration is known as the Estate Cuvee.
Purple in color. 15.2% ABV. 52% Zinfandel, 45% Syrah and 3% Grenache. Savory nose of black fruits, smoke, bacon fat and flowers. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity. Concentrated and powerful. Blackberry, raspberry liqueur, baking spices and pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Fascinating wine where the Syrah aromas jump out of the glass and the flavors are all about the Zinfandel. Best over the next 2-4 years.
My rating: 95 points.
This 2019 version of Estate Cuvee was released this past Fall.
I’ve been following Limerick Lane since the early 90’s. Consistently delicious Zins and the vineyard could not be in better hands right now. The mailing list here is highly recommended.
I blogged about Limerick Lane Vineyard previously in Top 10 Old Vine Zinfandel Vineyards and A Visit to Limerick Lane. Lastly I visited a month or so ago and wrote The 2019 Limerick Lane Zins with Winemaker Chris Pittenger.