Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2016 Limerick Lane Zinfandel Rocky Knoll – Bottle Notes

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.

Limerick Lane sells fruit to Carlisle, AldenAlli, Matthiasson and Bedrock.

Rocky Knoll is on the far north east corner of Limerick Lane Vineyard. As the name indicates the soil here is more rocky than the rest of the vineyard. The Rocky Knoll bottling also contains more Mourvedre and Petite Sirah than the other Zins in the Limerick Lane lineup.

Dark red in color. 14.9% ABV. Pronounced nose of black fruits, anise, cocoa and pepper. Full bodied with mouth watering acidity. Big, dark and concentrated. Blackberry, black cherry, spiced plums and pepper on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. The Rocky Knoll is always the biggest and darkest Zinfandel in the Limerick Lane lineup and this wine is no exception. The stuffing is here for this to age well. Best over the next 2-4 years.

My rating: 93 points.

The 2020 version of this wine will be released later this year.

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 late last year and wrote The 2019 Limerick Lane Zins with Winemaker Chris Pittenger.

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