2023 Hartford Court Zinfandel Old Vines Highwire Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2023 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard comes alive in the glass but is also very tightly wound today. A densely packed core of mineral-inflected blue/black berry fruit and exotic spices rides atop a cool-toned base layer of mouthwatering, vibrating acids. Savory herbal tones gain momentum with air before the Highwire slams shut on the finish. Though it's backward today, the 2023 has the stuffing to come together nicely with a couple of years in bottle.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate
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The 2023 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard comes from vines planted more than a century ago, and the wine matured for nine months in 45% new French oak. It has slowly unfolding aromas of raspberry, wild cherry, tobacco, cracked pepper and floral perfume. The full-bodied palate offers pure, fragrant flavors framed by silky tannins and juicy acidity, and it has a long, layered finish. 250 cases were made.
A darker magenta/ruby color, the 2023 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard has more depth, with notes of espresso, black cherry liqueur, graphite, cracked pepper, and polished leather. The palate is tangy and ripe with full-bodied richness and an underlying coating texture, with ripe tannins and a plush feel on the finish. There’s more depth and complexity to this wine, and I would be interested in revisiting it in a few years as it sheds its more primary fruit and develops more interesting spice and mineral tones. Drink 2026-2038.