2009 Martinelli Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2009 Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa unfolds on the palate with freshly cut flowers, roses, sweet red berries, licorice and tobacco. This is a relatively feminine Zinfandel, with persistent floral notes that are woven throughout. The Guiseppe and Luisa impresses for its racy personality.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Zinfandel Giuseppe and Luisa unfolds on the palate with freshly cut flowers, roses, sweet red berries, licorice and tobacco. This is a relatively feminine Zinfandel, with persistent floral notes that are woven throughout. The Guiseppe and Luisa impresses for its racy personality. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. Martinelli is one of the original pioneering families in Sonoma. I tasted a wide range of wines during a recent visit. The 2008 Syrahs, from a challenging vintage, are a bit up and down, but the rest of the wines are all outstanding. As always, these are fairly bold, extroverted wines, but their overall balance is typically superb. Tel. (707) 525-0570
Opaque ruby. Pungent, high-pitched bouquet of cherry-cola, blackberry, potpourri and Moroccan spices. Becomes smokier with air, offering sweet black fruit compote and fruitcake flavors with slow-building tannins and an exotic lavender pastille quality. Supple tannins add grip to the long, spicy, tightly focused finish. This wild thing needs a strongly spiced piece of braised or grilled lamb, or maybe a strong cheese.
About the producer
Martinelli is a Sonoma benchmark for vineyard-designate bottlings—wines built to highlight how strongly a single site can shape Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Zinfandel. Across the range, the focus stays consistent: small-production bottlings that feel distinctly tied to where they’re grown.