2014 Kitten Swish Zinfandel Mark’s Bedroom
Stuhlmuller Vineyard, Alexander Valley
This is our fourth release of Zinfandel from this glorious vineyard in Alexander Valley. The 2014 growing season started early with an even growing season without much stress, despite the drought conditions. The Stuhlmuller vineyard lies adjacent to the Russian River and has ample ground water stocks, so the drought stress felt elsewhere in the state is marginalized here. A hot July and August gave sugars a spike, but the weather cooled in September allowing phenolic maturity and natural acidity to be retained. The vineyard is a blend of gravel, clay and volcanic soils and we routinely pick from blocks 8 and 11. The grapes are co-harvested and co-fermented with 15% Petite Sirah. Aging is roughly 15 months in a blend of new and used French and American barrels.
Our 2013 turned into a monster…the 2013 vintage was a dense little guy with unruly muscles. With this in mind we wanted 2014 to return to the tasty lunch wine idea we imagined in 2011. While blending the barrels we looked for lower oak impact and fresher, brighter fruit aromatics. Essentially we wanted a wine to
pound while you crush pastrami on rye. You know, lunch wine.
As for this year’s label…
Mark and I rented a house in Forestville to crash in while we did our swishy business. Forestville is a slice. For anyone looking for rolling hills
covered in a myriad of trees and woods crawling with shady animals, this is a good spot. There is also the Forestville Club, a bar that will wet your throat and as a gnarly historical room will grab your curiosity. Filled with locals (and sometimes midgets and small dogs), it’s a good spot for a beer after a day of tasting.
I arrived at our house before Mark. One couldn’t help noticing the array and surprising variety of stuffed bunnies that lay spewed throughout the house. Mark is my unofficial muse for Kitten Swish and not one to miss an opportunity to torment him, I gathered up the herd of manufactured Leporidae and arranged them neatly on his bed. They were staring at him as he turned on the bedroom light. I heard, “Dude, what the hell?!” I smiled, thinking this is much easier than almost killing him with an ATV. This label is from a photo of Mark’s bed, completely covered with stuffed rabbits.
There were bunnies on Mark’s bed.
They were waiting for him.
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