Sweet wild blackberry, mountain bramble, fig preserve. Dark cherry liqueur, tobacco resin, black licorice. Dried flower petal and dehydrated lavender, powdered cumin and cracked pepper. Black currant, plum, and spiced cranberry compote unite with dried pine needle and briar in a rugged, muscular, and powerfully untamed attack. Cedar and potpourri continue the barrage of fragrant yet formidable natural tones bolstered further by an herbal edge in the form of burning sage, anise, and fennel. A dusting of chili powder and warm cinnamon imparts lifted spice as graham cracker and iron reveal impressions of volcanic earth - all before fading behind an intriguing note of iodine. Broad shouldered and quite masculine in character while brilliantly expressing finesse and obvious pedigree. Dry and full bodied on the palate with elevated tannin and moderate acidity. This 2017 Black Sears Vineyard Zinfandel by T-Vine Winery is a serious, complex, and terroir expressive red from a legendary site high up in Howell Mountain.

The Black Sears Vineyard might be Napa's most unique singular vineyard site. Born using cuttings from the famous Hayne Vineyard's original 1902 Zinfandel plantings, Black Sears sits at 2500ft from sea level in Howell Mountain and is the highest elevation vineyard in all of Napa Valley. This bottling, crafted by T-Vine Winery using Zinfandel sourced from Black Sears, magnificently exemplifies the wonderful and wild character of this amazing vineyard. It possesses a deep, dense, and spicy fruit profile that balances incredibly with feral and herbal underpinnings along with discernible volcanic verve. While bold and quite brooding in nature this wine is not at all monolithic, rather its power is admirably matched by incredible subtlety and complexity. An amazing young vintage of an epic wine.