2011 Zinfandel Dina's Vineyard

"A slow-motion vintage, like 2010" is how Don Hartford described 2011 to me, "and one of painfully low yields between tiny berries and selection, but what we got has real concentration."Hartford thinks that the chardonnays in 2011 "are especially interesting because they're so vibrant, which should help them to age better than some might think."The Hartford team's confidence in the material in those chardonnays is such that all but the Four Hearts were still in barrel when I visited in early March, which means that they are receiving their normal aging regimen.Zinfandel was also a success in 2011 thanks to the warm, dry weather in October; in addition, the old vines with which Hartford works suffered fewer consequences of the early October rains thanks to their deep root systems and widely spaced plantings, which allow beneficial air movement and quicker drying.Pinot was more of a challenge, he said, noting that "even with the short crop you had to worry about getting fruit intensity without green character."