Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/133302
Zinfandel, of course, is Lodi's forte, with more vines that can technically be called "ancient"—planted 75 to more than 100 years ago—than anywhere else in California. Says McCay, "Zinfandel thrives in Lodi because of its consistent, predictable growing season, and its location in the middle of the [Sacramento– San Joaquin River] Delta. The sun comes up over the Sierras and sets over Mt. Diablo, giving us the hot days that Zinfandel loves, and cool evenings with temperatures dipping down into the 50s at night. That's a home run for Zinfandel, whether you're going for a big, opulent style or for a more restrained, floral, layered, delicate style." McCay believes that Lodi has forged a reputation for ultra-ripe styles of Zinfandel only because most of Lodi's wineries—the number of which exploded from about 25 in the mid-1990s, to more than 80 today—emerged during a time when consumers were looking for the big stuff. Not too long ago, after all, the expression "no wimpy wines" really meant something to Zinfandel lovers, and Lodi wineries were only too happy to appease them. But, says McCay, "Lodi's Mediterranean climate doesn't have highs that are quite as high, nor lows that are quite as low, as what you find on the North Coast, and the soils are deep, sandy, well-drained. In this environment, it's actually easier to make a more delicate Zinfandel. If you earlier in the season and go by pH rather than Brix [i.e., sugar readings in ripening grapes]; and pick row by row, plant by plant, in each vineyard, astutely avoiding bunches with any raisining, you can produce a dryer, less jammy style of Zinfandel, without the high-octane alcohol or r.s. [residual sugar] that you often find in wines not only here in Lodi, but also in Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles." Part and parcel of this approach is McCay's penchant for native yeast fermentation to achieve more transparency—vineyard, or terroir-related, distinctions in the wines—plus his use of French oak as opposed to more aggressive American oak, never more than 20% new in any given cuvée. People are starting to take notice. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Bonné has written that McCay's wines "head in the opposite direction of most of Lodi's doings—Zinfandels (plus some Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah) that speak a bit more quietly, that dial back the oak and heighten fresh flavors." Randy Caparoso's notes give us a taste of what the fuss is all about. McCay 2011 Carignane, Lodi ($28) Medium-weight 100% varietal bottling, redolent with cinnamon spiced cranberry, cherry-red perfumes, with undertones of loamy earth. Sourced from what McCay calls the Faith Vineyard: hunky, gnarled vines planted in 1904 at a bend in the Mokelumne River locals call the "Peninsula, " distinguished by cool air coming off the river and beach-like sandy loam, permitting the ungrafted roots of Carignane there to dig as deep as 30 or 40 feet. McCay 2011 Grenache, Lodi ($28) Irrepressibly bright, bouncy, fresh strawberryish medium-full bodied red, perked up by peppery spice, zesty acidity and garrigue-like scrubby notes—with a purity of taste enhanced by strictly neutral French cooperage and native yeast fermentation (both McCay signatures). Grapes come from young vines grown by Phil and Louis Abba, described by McCay as "fantastic, meticulous farmers. " McCay 2011 Cabernet Franc, Lodi ($32) This wine will shock many wine lovers wary of the typically vegetal qualities of this varietal: vivid purplish ink color and concentration of floral/violet, raspberry/blackberry coulis perfumes, tickling the nose and spreading sensually over the palate with bright, zesty flavors, popped up by moderate tannin and piquant acidity. McCay 2010 "Equity" Zinfandel, Lodi ($24) Blend of multiple vineyards as well as a little Petite Sirah; lighter palate feel and spice cake sensation—berry aromas laced with gingery, baked brown sugar notes, twists of peppercorn, and faintly charred/vanillin wood. Luscious medium weight flavors, unimpeded by the wine's finely finished tannin and moderated alcohol (just over 14%). McCay 2010 "Jupiter" Zinfandel, Lodi ($28) Rich, nostril-tingling autumn spice aromas (nutmeg, ginger, touches of clove and cocoa); the spiced fruit qualities building on young tannin seeping through a thickened fleshiness, firm yet fluid in the touch. Says McCay, "Jupiter comes from a trellised vineyard on the southeast side of Lodi. The vines are younger [planted in the late '60s], soil is loose and sandy, but the rootstocks [Dog Ridge] are promiscuous, producing a softer, fruitfocused, less earthy style of Zinfandel, with an ease I always describe as a 'Frank Sinatra elegance.'" McCay 2010 "Contention" Zinfandel, Lodi ($64) Single-vineyard bottling from 75-year-old head-trained vines, expressing classic "West Side" Lodi terroir: intoxicating wild berry aromas with pungent notes of mace, pepper and allspice, underlain by faint yet distinctively organic, composted earth qualities. Voluptuously full body filled by generous yet rounded tannin—feeling big without being weighty. june 2013 / the tasting panel / 95 TP0613_080-119.indd 95 5/23/13 5:30 PM