Past Wines
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Featured Wine
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Tasting Notes
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Technical Data
Amphora Winery 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel
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About The Featured Wine
The 2006 Amphora Zinfandel consists of 95% Zinfandel & 5% Petite Sirah. Seven vineyards that supply the fruit for this wine lie from the west and east sides of Dry Creek Valley. The small aount of Petite Syrah adds to the mid-pallet flavor and color along with added tannin structure for aging and plumb fruit flavors.
About Amphora Winery
Rick Hutchinson works to find the best rootstock on which to graft the perfect clone, matching each with the unique soil profile of the Dry Creek Valley Appellation. In pursuit of balance and harmony, Amphora wines are skillfully blended to produce rich, elegant, fruit-forward wines that truly are works of art.
Summary of Tasting Event
This is a pre-release so we have included the winemakers tasting notes here. The winery suggests it can be paired with Short Ribs with Tagliatelle.
Dark ruby-black in color, pronounced aromas of dusty blackberry, dead-ripe strawberry and deep plum jump out of the glass. Medium to medium-heavy in body, ripe black fruit flavors follow the aromatics. Flavors finish very long and persistent, with just hint of licorice and sassafras on the very end. Overall structure is well-balanced, with moderate but gentle tannins, and warmth but no heat on finish. It will benefit from another 1-3 years in bottle, but it is very appealing now as well because of its classic Dry Creek, bright fruit.
| Wine Profile Style | ||
| Light Bodied | Medium Bodied | Full Bodied |
| Drink Now (0-3 yrs) | Will Age (3-5 yrs) | Will Age (8-10 yrs) |
| Slightly Fruity | Fruity | Very Fruity |
| No Tannins | Softer Tannins | Heavier Tannins |
| Low Acidity | Medium Acidity | High Acidity |
| No Residual Sugar Dry | Off Dry | Sweet |
Amphora Winery 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel
This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
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Indie Winemakers' Tasting Notes
Our mission is to provide unbiased opinions of the wine being offered. These notes come from up to 10 guests who tasted this wine in a blind tasting format (wine is concealed so their identity is unknown). Why this format? Tasting blind completely throws out any hype associated with a certain winery, style, price point, etc; it forces the taster to accept what is in the glass without any predetermined notions. Our guests utilize Robert Parker's Glossary of Wine Terms for their comments for consistency purposes. In addition, we utilize the wine aroma wheel to enhance one’s ability to describe the complexity of wine flavor. Notes are posted on this wine during the tasting to ensure they accurately reflect the impressions.
- WS: Lots of fruit but not too sweet. Fast finish.
- RLA: This wine goes great with the food. Seems young.
- JD: Lots of black cherry and strawberry.
- DC: Seems young but drinking well now. Nice fruit flavors.
- BP: Cherries.
- MA: Nice zin not to jammy.
Amphora Winery 2006 Dry Creek Zinfandel
This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers. Join our Mailing List (see at left) to be notified when a new featured wine is offered. |
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Dry Creek Appellation Notes
Dry Creek Valley is quintessentially Sonoma County, where warm days are tempered by morning fog from the Pacific and food-friendly varieties like Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel boldly emerge, both on the narrow valley floor and the wooded hillsides above. Originally planted by French immigrants in 1870, Italian pioneers soon discovered a vinous geography that was reminiscent of their native Tuscany and Piedmont. They planted Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Carignane to produce hearty red wines. Today, the leading varieties, after Zinfandel, include Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. The severe, stone-strewn soils are ideal for concentrated fruit and flavor characteristics, creating wines that are truly representational of the land. The aptly named Rockpile AVA emerged from the Northern tip of Dry Creek Valley in 2002. Known for its warm and sunny climate, and named for its roughed and unrelenting terrain, this area proves to cultivate rich Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Total acres: 78,387, Vineyards acres: 10,000, Number of wineries 81, growing 26 different grape varietals.
Winemaker's Tasting Notes
This zinfandel offers ripe raspberry and sweet vanilla aromas. Mouth-filling flavors of plum and spice are complemented by smooth tannins. The structure and well balanced nature of this wine gives great pleasure today and in years to come.