2019 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée ($15)
Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1973 by John Cushman and five friends, who purchased the property the year prior.
As the third winery established in Santa Barbara County, experimentation was an integral part of Zaca Mesa’s early days. Several different varieties were planted to see which grapes would be the best suited to the estate’s unique terroir. After many trials, Zaca Mesa’s first winemaker, Ken Brown, planted Syrah in 1978, establishing Zaca Mesa as the first to plant Syrah in Santa Barbara County. This block of Syrah remains the oldest Syrah block on the Central Coast and is now known as the Black Bear Block.
These grapes were purely estate-grown across unique blocks. Syrah comes from the high, flat tabletop of the Mesa Block (1,400 feet elevation). Grenache is harvested from the sloped, shale-loam soils of the Cushman Block. Old-vine Mourvèdre and Cinsault are selected from the Chapel and Mariposa blocks respectively.
Each of the four varieties was harvested, de-stemmed, and fermented separately. After primary fermentation, the separate lots were transferred into neutral French oak barrels. The wine rests in these barrels for 15 months. After the aging period, the winemaker blended the components together to create the exact 57% Mourvèdre, 29% Grenache, 11% Syrah, and 3% Cinsault ratio.
Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée (which means “blend”) is medium ruby in color with nice aromas of cherry and red currant. On the palate, this medium-full bodied wine has flavors of black cherry and boysenberry. The tannin is medium-low resulting in a wine that’s drinkable right out of the bottle and leads to a smooth, balanced and somewhat spicy finish. [ABV: 14%, TA: 0.59 gm/100 mL, pH:3.55]
This Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée is a really nice wine (I went back for more!) that’s a great value, too. That makes it a perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!