2006 Zinfandel Dina's Vineyard

I tasted the 2006 releases with Don Hartford and his winemaker Jeff Mangahas, who told me that the extreme growing conditions on the Sonoma Coast necessitated patience and late harvesting. In Hartford's Seascape Vineyard, for example, which is on an unprotected ridge overlooking Bodega Bay, the harvest lasted until November 16, which he said didn't make the pickers very happy. "But all of our vineyards are cool," he pointed out. Hartford admitted that he has always had a soft spot for Russian River Valley zinfandel, especially from old vines, pointing out that the vineyards with which he works typically range from 85 to 100 years of age. He said that the goal here is to make zinfandel "in a graceful, ageworthy style, not massive."