Wine Advocate 93
The 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard is medium garnet-purple in color and opens with notions of raspberry tart, kirsch and red currant jelly with suggestions of tobacco, mossy bark and dusty soil plus a waft of white pepper. Big, concentrated and powerful in the mouth, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and earthy.

The nose of this wine opens onto a delightful tableau of tiny red berries, balanced against just a nuance of cedar. On swirling, the nose will deepen, showing the layered beauty that is what an old vine Zinfandel can be. Take a moment, and plump raspberries, tart red currants, and just a hint of blueberry jam will unfold. Take a sip, and you will find a rich bed of tannins backing up a bracing acidity. Notice how the front of the palate is crisp, with a distinct character of tart Rainier cherries, and also how it quickly mellows into soft layers of rich brambleberry and cocoa. Overall, this wine is beautifully balanced and designed to age. This wine is unfined and unfiltered. Drink now or hold for 10-plus years. ~winery notes

Richard Arrowood is an iconic winemaster who has been making wine exclusively in Sonoma County for more than for 50+ years. From 1974 through 1990, he created the wines for Chateau St. Jean, where he developed some of the first vineyard-designate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon produced in Sonoma County. He and his wife, Alis, founded Arrowood Winery with the 1985 vintage. Each year, they made extraordinary small-lot varietals and vineyard designates. Richard was the winemaster at Arrowood Winery until June 2010, when he resigned his position to devote himself full-time to making wines for his estate winery, Amapola Creek Vineyards and Winery.

Completed just in time for crush in October 2007, Amapola Creek Winery is a very small, ultra-premium facility with state-of-the-art equipment. We wanted to keep the design in line with current and historic land use in Sonoma Valley, so we chose a rustic red barn-like exterior. The structure, encompassing 5,100 square feet indoors, consists of metal panels packed with phenomenal insulation materials. We have another 2,000 square feet under a canopy for our tanks and press. In addition, we installed photovoltaic panels that generate the majority of our electrical needs by harnessing the power of the sun, allowing us to be a sustainable facility. The winery has everything we need for our minimal intervention approach to winemaking, yet has nothing extraneous or fancy. It’s the winery of our dreams!