Lot Overview
- Region: 100% Dry Creek Valley (Treborce Vineyard, eastern benchland)
- Vintage: 2023
- Varietal: 95% Zinfandel/Primitivo, 5% Petite Sirah
- Oak Aging: 100% neutral French oak
- Alcohol: 15.5%, pH 3.5, TA 6.27 g/L
- Cases Available: 225
- Cam Price: ~$10.75/bottle ($129/case)
- Retail Estimate: $55/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: [redacted per Cam’s request]
- Wine Berserkers Guess: [redacted per Cam’s request]
- Drink Window: 2025–2033 (peak 2026–2030)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Originally marketed under its originating label as a $55/bottle biodynamically-grown, single-vineyard designated Dry Creek Primitivo. What is so fascinating and compelling about this wine is that it beautifully combines the more savory and chocolatey inclinations of Italian Primitivo with the rich brambly blackberry, raspberry framboise liqueur, and stewed plum notes of Dry Creek Zinfandel. The winemaker both produces Zinfandel here in Dry Creek but also, you guessed it, produces Primitivo in Puglia. The source vineyard, the biodynamically-farmed Treborce Vineyard, was originally planted on St. George rootstock in 1999, the vines all painstakingly grafted over to 100-year old budwood sourced from legendary vineyards in Dry Creek Valley and the Geyserville area. Today it serves as a source for many a high-end or Reserve Zinfandel and/or Primitivo bottling.
Tasting Notes
Deep purple/opaque core with an electric purple hue. Explodes from the glass with ripe, brambly blackberry and chocolate-covered black cherry complexed with framboise liqueur, gobs of black pepper and tobacco leaf haloed with powdery rose petal florals. Warm on entry with wild berry jam and cocoa notes coating a palate-staining structure of black pepper and tobacco-laced tannins that unleash more waves of chocolate-covered black cherry, stewed plums, sandalwood, and tobacco leaf.
✅ Bottle Shock Status: Drinking well now per Cam.
Claude’s Source Guess: [Redacted per Cam’s request]
Cam names the Treborce Vineyard directly, and [redacted] is the only producer confirmed to bottle a Treborce Vineyard Primitivo. Founded by [redacted] and [redacted] on their biodynamic Dry Creek Valley farm, [redacted] is known for Italian-inflected wines including Primitivo from Treborce alongside their own estate Sangiovese, Barbera, and olive oil program. Critically, [redacted] and [redacted] also operate a biodynamic farm and olive estate in Puglia, Italy — matching Cam’s precise clue that “the winemaker both produces Zinfandel here in Dry Creek but also produces Primitivo in Puglia” exactly.
The vineyard owner is [redacted], who farms biodynamically on the eastern benchland of Dry Creek Valley. [redacted]’s Treborce Primitivo retails at approximately $55 — matching Cam’s “$55/bottle” retail precisely. The 100% neutral French oak aging is consistent with [redacted]’s Italian-inspired, fruit-forward winemaking philosophy.
Multiple producers source from Treborce including Wilson Winery, Carol Shelton, and others, but the Puglia connection is unique to [redacted] and definitively confirms the identification.
✅ Confidence: Very High — vineyard named directly, Puglia winemaking connection unique to [redacted], $55 retail confirmed, biodynamic certification confirmed, and neutral oak aging consistent with [redacted]’s house style.
Drink Window
Early: 2025 — drinking well now per Cam, and the neutral oak gives immediate accessibility.
Peak: 2026–2030. Old budwood Dry Creek Zinfandel at 15.5% alc typically peaks 3–7 years from vintage.
Hold: 2033. The low pH (3.5) and robust TA (6.27) give this exceptional aging architecture for Zinfandel.
My Call: ✅ Drink window: 2025–2033 (peak 2026–2030)