It’s fitting to me that the last post during the first round of The 12 Days of Zin is Mother Clone from Pedroncelli in Dry Creek. Sure the winery has an 80+ year history and some of the vines are over 100 years old. But it’s personal for me too. Mother Clone is one of the Zins that made me a fan of the varietal to begin with.  I’ve been drinking it for well over a decade and always like checking in each year to see how the current vintage is drinking.

The 2006 Pedroncelli Mother Clone Zinfandel is 88% varietal and 12% Petite Sirah. The wine was aged for 12 months in American oak. The suggested retail price for this wine is $15 and it can be generally be found for several dollar less than that.

The current vintage of the Mother Clone as with previous vintages is a bit tight out of the bottle. Right now this wine needs about an hour in the decanter to really shine. It’s time well spent. When it opens up the nose reveals abundant berry along with subtler but present cedar notes. While the nose of this wine gives off an element of jam, the palate is gloriously dry and beautiful. From the mid-palate through the finish black pepper and light earth notes linger for a persistent finish along with a touch of dust. This wine will be a perfect accompaniment to a dish of pasta.

As with Pedroncelli wines in general the Mother Clone features terrific acidity and excellent balance. The Petite Sirah adds structure and substance to this wine. Drinking this wine makes me wish I was in Geyserville. My favorite thing about the Mother Clone is its unerring consistency from vintage to vintage.

Thus ends Part I of the 12 Days of Zin. Stay tuned as The 12 Days of Zin Part II begins at the end of the month!

Up Next: Argentina’s Luigi Bosca

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Paso Robles has long been one of my favorite spots in California, especially for Zinfandel. So it should come as no surprise that I’d include quite a few Paso Robles releases in The 12 Days of Zin. Today’s look at a Paso Robles Zinfandel is from a relatively new producer. The 2006 release from 5 Mile Bridge is only their second vintage of Zinfandel.

The 2006 5 Mile Bridge Zinfandel is a single vineyard effort sourced from the Margarita Vineyard. This vineyard stands at an elevation of 1,000 feet, allowing excellent sun exposure. 1% Cabernet Franc was blended in with the ZInfandel. This wine was aged in a combination of French and American oak (about 1/3 of it new) for 14 months. Just over 2,900 cases of this releases were produced. The suggested retail price for this wine is $20.

Bright red raspberry, cedar and vanilla fill the nose of this Zinfandel. 30 minutes in a decanter, or a glass, really allows this wine to open up. Blueberry and raspberry fill the wines plate along with white pepper notes. From the mid-palate through the finish, stewed fruit notes linger along with additional spice elements such as nutmeg and a hint of earth. I had this with a porcini mushroom pizza and found it to be excellent accompaniment.

The most impressive thing about this particular Zinfandel is its harmony and balance. Each element is well in check of the other providing an overall enjoyable drinking experience. That’s particularly noteworthy for a wine that’s only in its second vintage. Also of note is the alcohol at 14.2%. This is on the modest side not just for Zin in general but also for Paso Robles. I look forward to seeing what 5 Mile Bridge produces going forward.

Up Next: The 12 Days of Zin Continues!

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