2012 Seghesio San Lorenzo Estate Red Wine Alexander Valley 750 ml

Zin History Chapter 1: Seghesio

When it comes to truly elite California Zinfandel, it’s lonely at the top. There’s Ridge Vineyards, Three Wine Company, Ottimino… and then there’s Seghesio. Wine Spectator dropped 92 points on the legendary Seghesio family’s 2012 San Lorenzo, calling it “deep and brooding, but loaded with personality.” Winemaker Ted Seghesio deftly blended mouthwatering, high-toned Zinfandel with powerful, black-fruited Petite Sirah — both grown in the 120-year old-San Lorenzo Estate Vineyard — yielding an incredibly rich, yet vibrant red, with a backbone for aging. Unless you have plans to visit the historic Seghesio winery in Healdsburg sometime soon, this pedigreed Zinfandel blend is impossible to get a hold of — except through Wine Access. Only 290 cases were produced and we managed to secure 60 cases thanks to our longstanding relationship with the family. $58 at the winery, or just $34.99 — 40% off — today on Wine Access.

The Seghesio story is straight out of 19th-century folklore. Edoardo Seghesio left Piedmont, Italy, in 1886 and settled in Sonoma County’s Italian Swiss Colony. There he found employment in a skill they knew well back in the old country — growing grapes. At the same time, another Italian immigrant, Francesco Passalacqua, was saving gold coins from his work in the California mines. By 1896, Passalacqua — the maternal great-grandfather of the current Seghesio owner, Peter — had saved up enough to buy a tiny vineyard that he named for his Italian hometown, San Lorenzo. This historic plot became a Seghesio holding through marriage, and earned its reputation as one of the most extraordinary parcels in Sonoma County.

The San Lorenzo Vineyard occupies a singular position, spanning both the Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley; vines in the former are rooted in Raynor and Haire clay loams, while the floor of the latter is composed of gravelly silt, and cloaked by pea-like fog throughout the summer months. “If there’s a ‘super Sonoma,’ it’s vineyards like this,” Peter Seghesio told Wine Spectator. In the wonderfully mild, dry 2012 growing season, the storied San Lorenzo plot performed like rarely before. While yields were fairly copious, Zinfandel clusters — often irregular in size and maturity — ripened beautifully, making for one of the cleanest and juiciest crops in memory. Petite Sirah excelled as well, developing massive concentration and thick skins turned midnight blue. Blended expertly by Ted Seghesio, San Lorenzo’s fruits yielded one for the ages. Highly recommended.