Sky Zinfandel Anyone?

Now that Bedrock is doing a Sky Vineyard Zinfandel it occurred to me I have never had a Zinfandel from Sky Winery ( http://www.skyvineyards.com/sky/). Morgan seemed to speak reverently of the vineyard. There is not much data in cellartracker. Has anyone tried a bottle before? Can you speak to the style? I think I will have to login into the winery store and try a bottle or two for myself.

Thanks,
Tom

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I don’t drink a lot of Zin anymore, but Sky has always been special because I visited them. So I might have some bias.

Either way, their wines are usually lower in alcohol. I would say they would fall under a more traditional zin. Not over the top fruity and zippy, along with being age worthy. Ageworrhy in the sense of not being stewed sweet fruit but more complex. The wines are usually released a few vintages after production. When I visited there was no temperature control and they kept humidity up by spraying a hose over the barrel room. The vives are more Bush like than vines.

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They always had beautiful labels! I didn’t think they were around anymore. Good old mountain zin. Weren’t they near Mayacamas?

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Yup, Tom…followed them from the very start. Lore Olds is the owner. Nea labels drawn by their daughter I believe.
Definitly mountain Zin. Rather old-timey. Bit rugged/rustic. Closest thing I can think of is PeterFranus BrandlinRanch Zin
or GeorgeHendry Zin. Maybe some of the old Ridge HowellMtn Zins but w/o the oak. Haven’t had them in a few yrs, though,
and don’t see them much at retail.
Tom

Sky is truly a “mountain” zin. Great little spot up on Mt. Veeder. Pennsylvania had the 2009 for a while, not sure what stock is like now.

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Haven’t had one in years. Back in the '90s they showed a bit of pyrazine, in a good way. That gave them a certain “pop” in an interplay with the mountain fruit. Would love to try a contemporary one, as well as some mature ones…

I recall having these at Cannery Wine Cellar in the early 90s. They stood out from everything else. I haven’t encountered one since then.

The 2013 Sky Zin is excellent. 13.4 percent octane, perhaps just a touch more refined structurally than those of a decade ago, but still loaded with Mount Veeder goodness. Lovely spice and brambly notes of zin, without the overt jamminess one finds at higher alcohol; good structural tension from tangy, but ripe and well-integrated acids. It really is a beautiful throwback to a 1970s style zin and heartily recommended. It probably deserves five years in the cellar to blossom properly, but is not hard to drink today with the right food. Good juice!

Hey just a heads up that the 2014 Sky Zinfandel is available on Wine.com. I got my order in and was able to use a $50 promo code. [cheers.gif]

Tom

I have a 1999 from the most recent Davis cellar visit. I did not offer it for Berserker Day this year out of curiosity–the bottle will fulfill destiny shortly.

Bummer - not available in PA

Lore Olds is an all time great name.

Thanks Tom!

I’ve got a couple bottles of 09 from Winebid but have not opened one yet. Hopefully sometime soon

You outbid me on that lot…

Tom

Looks like an interesting winery that I’d never heard of. Website says they are off the grid! I’m on the lookout to try for sure, interesting that 2014 seems like the most recent release?

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They had a fire.

For those that are interested, there is a great Bedrock Conversations podcast with Skyla Olds the daughter of Sky’s owner. It’s a wonderful podcast with Chris from Bedrock wines. Bedrock makes a Syrah and Zin from Sky as well.

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Did I? Sorry buddy! This was from earlier in the year/late last year, not the recent batch they had (if that helps at all :slight_smile:

The Zin is gone, now. There’s the '14 Syrah, still, but also, interestingly, and '18 Rose.

Their wines are reserved, elegant (for Zinfandel), and relatively low alcohol (again…for Zinfandel).