2005 Zinfandel Jackass Hill

The extended Martinelli family owns over 350 acres of vines and sells off almost 90% of their production. Draconian vineyard practices are the rule here and yields are almost ridiculously low, resulting in consistently intense wines with impressively chewy textures. It helps, too, that winemaker Helen Turley, who is known for her unwillingness to compromise at any stage of the process from vine to bottle, has a free hand here. Turley was hired in 1993 and Lee Martinelli confessed that many family members "freaked out when they saw the culling we were doing in the vineyards." Yield-cutting is so dramatic here that Martinelli says that "with vineyard workers programmed to bring in lots of fruit, which usually means higher pay since pay is based on weight," the family has to constantly remind them that they need to "pick on sabor, for maximum concentration." He also told me that he's the only person to work the tractor on the frighteningly steep Jackass Hill. "I'm too scared to let my children get up there on a machine," he said.