Birichino St Georges Zinfandel 2021 (6 Bottles) Santa Cruz, California

From the same vineyard as the Saint Georges Pinot Noir (Besson’s Home Ranch), the Zinfandel vines were apparently planted by an Italian bootlegger in 1922. Rooted in granite and sandy loams, Besson’s ungrafted Zinfandel benefits from morning and afternoon sun, while the unusually fresh marine-moderated night-time temperatures permit full expression and flavour development without requiring exacerbated degrees of alcohol. To showcase the grape’s fresher, nuanced, and silkier side, the Birichino boys pick their Zin early, usually between 13 and 13.5% potential alcohol.