Champagne Wishes of Whom You Know Celebrates our 300th Post: Sledgehammer’s 2009 Zinfandel Recommended by Whom You Know! Cheers to that!

Sledgehamm​er Zinfandel 2009 is deeeelsih all the way to the last drop. This is a wine lovers dream come true. The beautiful bold maturity of the wine shows without effort. Pop open a bottle and see for yourself. When you pour a glass you can see the beautiful color sparkle. The taste of this wine dances on your taste buds. You can taste all of the beautiful fruits and spices used to create this wine. As a wine lover myself I feel like this really hits home for me. I matched this wine up with a steak salad and the pairing was magnificent! I really could taste the rich full-bodied flavor. It left me begging for more! I can firmly say that I would bring this over to a friends house as a wonderful addition to their wine collection. I hope this has made you curious to give it a try. Trust me when I say you won't regret it! Enjoy a bottle today!

All too often, folks in the US think that if you are drinking a wine out of California it must be from Sonoma or Napa area.  If you think that way, you will miss out on some real gems.  While the aforementioned places provide great wines, their wine is influenced strongly by the Pacific Ocean.  If you look to Lake County, you will be pleasantly surprised by the difference that a continental climate can offer.  To me the most notable difference comes from the winds off the mountains that cool the region.  Sledegehammer's 2009 Zinfandel is an excellent example.  Nothing fancy here just plain old nock your socks good wine.  Infused with 8% Petite Sirah, it is an amazing concotion that begs to be drank and enjoyed!  Stored in both French and Hungarian oak, the spice is easy to tastle and by no means subtle.  I also think this combintation of oak keeps the tannins in check.  They say they are breaking the status quo and I agree.  This is the wine I know my brother would love.  In fact, I am pretty sure I am going to have to bring this to his place next time.  It could be a perfect way for he and his poker buddies to increase their wine knowledge.  And, hopefully, I can get an invite next time he is serving the Sledgehammer!!

"Big, bold, and persistent."  My new beau?  Nope, although that could be interesting!  In fact, it's the description on the bottle of the Sledgehammer 2009 Zinfandel I recently had the pleasure of experiencing.  Sledgehammer is all about the macho side of wine, and their vintages are marked by vibrant, unapologetic flavors and a no-frills approach to enjoying them.  Now, I'm about as girly as girls come, but I love a wine that makes me pay attention, and this Zin certainly does.  True to its description, it is big and bold, and the character and strength never wane.  The dark, rich, full-bodied fruit flavor is marked by just a hint of pepper, and the first sip literally explodes with flavor.  Well, the first um, chug, I mean - according to Sledgehammer's manly code of conduct, their wines are not to be sipped or swirled!  Sourced mainly from the Clear Mountain Vineyard in the Red Hills appellation of Lake County, CA, the grapes used to produce this wine were picked at full maturity, fermented for 5-7 days, and subsequently aged for 2 years in a combination of French and Hungarian oak barrels.  About 8% of the grapes are Petite Syrah, providing an additional layer of complexity for this already dark and brooding wine.  Although I enjoyed it on its own, this wine is certainly strong enough to stand up to even the heartiest of meals, although you may want to stick to simple pairings in order to fully appreciate the richness of the flavor.  It's well worth a visit to Sledgehammer's website (www.sledgehammerwine.com) for further information on the wine, as well as some handy tips on how to enjoy it.  The tongue-in-cheek humor throughout the site had me chuckling as I sipped, and made me an even bigger fan of Sledgehammer than I was after simply tasting the wine.  The lighthearted irreverence with which the company treats the sometimes elitist wine culture is a great reminder not to take ourselves - or our wine - too seriously, but rather to sit back, relax, and enjoy.  Cheers to the Sledgehammer team for crafting such an immensely drinkable wine, and for the joie de vivre with which they did so - I'll drink to that!

Sledgehammer wine is not your typical wine.  "Big, bold, no fuss" is their claim and marketing to men is their aim!  The packaging itself is manly- a red and black label with "SLEDGEHAMMER" appearing in a bold, upper case font.  Definitely no chance of being mistaken as girly or delicate here!  The Sledgehammer 2009 Zinfandel is a manly Zinfandel for sure!  Bold, dark and full, this Zin packs quite a punch.  The grapes were picked at full maturity and then fermented for five to seven days before being pressed.  The wine was then aged for six months in a combination of French and American oak barrels.   This process resulted in rich color and spicy notes.  The winemaker also added 7% Petite Syrah to give more depth to the flavor.  This Zinfandel contains fruity notes (blackberry, black cherry) and spicy, earthy notes (black pepper and tobacco).  I enjoyed a glass (or two...) for the first time one evening recently when I just needed to unwind from a crazy day.  It did the trick!  My husband (who is not a wine drinker) noticed the bottle and asked me about it and I even persuaded him to join me in having a glass.  I would say, "Chalk one up for Sledgehammer and its manly marketing!"

Like its Cabernet, Sledgehammer’s 2009 Zinfandel is intended to be a fuss-free option for devoted Zinfandel drinkers.  It provides the complex flavor of traditional Zinfandels and is made with the darkest, ripest grapes for a truly unique flavor.  The Northern California winery’s promise is to pack powerful flavors into every sip, and to create new twists on classic wines.  They succeeded in doing both of these things in the creation of their Zinfandel, which has a brilliantly complex flavor.  While it tasted perfectly intricate, it still managed to be smooth.  Its complexity was a perfect compliment to a simple chicken dinner.  The Zinfandel, like the Cabernet, is a no-frills, fuss-free, masculine wine for anyone like me, who likes to enjoy wine purely for its flavor and its ability to bring people together.

Initially I was uncertain about a Zinfandel called Sledgehammer. It isn't my typical girly bottle of wine, but I nonetheless decided to give it a chance. I am so glad that i did! This wine is like no other Zinfandel i've had before! First of all, it is packed to the brim with flavor and intensity! I guess that is what happens when you take a sledgehammer to Zin grapes! This Zinfandel is from Lake County, which apparently has great growing conditions for this specific type of grape. Like their Cabernet, it is aged in oak (French and American) for six months which gives the wine soft tannins and vanilla highlights. The aromas of boysenberry, black cherry and blackberry are heavenly while the hint of black pepper is a great added kick! It is nice and rich, which made it difficult to hold back from constantly refilling my glass! I ended up sharing this bottle with a couple of friends which they enjoyed equally as much as I did. We ended up pairing it with different cheeses which was a great idea. Cheddar cheese was my favorite pairing-I thought it complimented the wine extremely well. Though I was hesitant at first, this wine really proved its greatness. I can't wait until I get to enjoy another bottle of it!

***

Zinfandel

2009

A new style of big Zin – bold and complex. This winemaker took no prisoners.

Zin lovers weapon of choice. Dark, ripe fruit and surprising complexity make it wise beyond its years. When you take a sledgehammer to Zin grapes, you get intensely ripe and intense flavor that’s a hammer blow to your taste buds.

Sledgehammer + ripe, dark Zinfandel grapes = Rich, full bodied flavor that will leave you begging for more.

Vineyards & Vintage

The majority of grapes in this Zinfandel come from the Clear Mountain Vineyard in the Red Hills appellation of Lake County. Here red volcanic soils with high rock content (including large chunks of obsidian) combine with warm days and cool nights to provide excellent growing conditions for Zinfandel, yielding wines with rich and robust flavors.

The 2009 growing season started out dry, but with healthy spring rains, the vineyards flourished. Summer brought warm days and cool evenings, perfect for consistent ripening while maintaining acidity in the grapes. Extended hang time allowed the fruit to ripen fully with concentrated varietal flavors. Overall, the 2009 vintage produced wines of excellent quality.

Winemaking

After being picked at full maturity, the fruit was fermented for 5 to 7 days prior to pressing, resulting in rich color and structured tannins. Following malolactic fermentation the wine was aged for six months in a combination of French and American oak to add a touch of spice notes, while enabling the bright juicy fruit intensity of the vineyard to show through. The winemaker added in small amounts of Petite Sirah (7%) for added depth of flavor.

Tasting Notes

The 2009 Sledgehammer Zinfandel begins with grapey aromas of boysenberry, blackberry, black cherry, and a hint of black pepper. Dark fruit flavors of died cherry and currant, highlighted by strong tobacco notes, dominate the palate, balanced by soft tannins and some vanilla highlights from the influence of aging in oak.

Technical Info:

Appellation - North Coast

Blend – 93% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah

Harvest – September 12^th to October 12^th, 2009

Brix at Harvest – 26.1°

TA – 0.57 g/100mL

pH – 3.74

Alcohol – 15.1%

Cooperage - Aged in a combination of French and American oak for 6 months.

Release – March 2011

https://www.facebook.com/Sledgehammerwine

http://www.sledgehammerwine.com/