Zin Fans – 95 Points!

Marietta Cellars Does It Again!!

A month ago, we featured two wines from Marietta Cellars, their Cabernet Sauvignon and Old Vine Red. Generally, I would wait some time before promoting the winery again, but Marietta Cellars is offering another incredible value that you need to know about now. Also, there was a tremendous response to our previous email on them, so I did not think you would mind.

While researching the wines of Marietta Cellars, I saw a great review in the Wine Advocate, a very well-respected wine publication, on the Marietta Cellars Zinfandel Román 2019. I asked the distributor to grab me a bottle to sample when the wine arrived, which I was able to taste over the weekend. It was exactly what I was looking for, as a perfect summer wine!

Too many Zins are over the top with oak, fruit, and alcohol content. I always prefer more balanced wines without anything being too excessive. This Zinfandel achieves that ideal balance. To top it off, Zinfandel is a perfect wine in the heat of the summer; so I couldn’t wait to share this killer value with you right away!

Marietta Cellars was founded by Sonoma County native Chris Bilbro in 1978. Back then he purchased whatever grapes he could to make wine, but it was excellent from the start. His family had three generations making wine in California, so winemaking was in his blood. Today his son Scot Bilbro is running the estate. Scot graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Viticulture and Enology in 2007 and began working full time at the winery. He became the winemaker in 2012 and has brought Marietta more great accolades than ever. He says he learned by watching his father, not only in the winery but at home cooking ribs, blending the spices to make them balanced, just like making a wine. Today, Mariettas wines are mostly estate grown and all organic from their 310 acres in Alexander Valley, McDowell Valley, and Yorkville Highlands.

This week’s featured wine is again from Marietta Cellars. The Zinfandel Román is named for their Cellar Master Román Cisneros. Cisneros started at Marietta when he was 16 years old, and through hard work and loyalty over 32 years, grew from a laborer to Cellar Master. The grapes are all hand-harvested and sourced from two estate vineyards, Angeli Vineyard in Anderson Valley and McDowell Valley Vineyard. The Angeli Ranch was first planted to Zinfandel in the 1880’s and is now home to Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Zinfandel grapes are fermented cold to retain freshness and small amounts of Petite Sirah is added for structure while some Barbera is added for savory notes. The wine is aged for twelve months in old oak barrels, perfectly balancing the juicy, spicy flavors of Zinfandel with an old school earthiness of the Zins that were made decades ago.

Zinfandel is a perfect summer red, I like to put a bottle in the refrigerator about an hour before serving so it is the perfect temperature to enjoy with burgers, ribs or all by itself!

Marietta Cellars Estate Grown Family Series Zinfandel “Román” 2019 750ml

95 Points – Wine Advocate

"The 2019 Román Zinfandel (blended with 4% Barbera and 2% Petite Sirah) has a medium ruby-purple color and gregarious scents of candied peach, wild berry preserves, orange peel and tar. The palate is deeply fruited but light on its feet with bright freshness and loads of perfume on the long finish." - Erin Brooks, June 2021