2017 Hendry Zinfandel Block 28 Napa Valley 750 ml

Hendry has always made some of our absolute favorite Zinfandels, and the elegant, complex 2017 Block 28 might just be the best ever from this iconic Napa estate.   

It earned a staggering 95-point score—making it Wine & Spirits’  top-scoring Zin of the vintage, rivaled by Ridge and no one else. That’s the kind of score that we normally associate with triple-digit-priced Cabernet, not modestly priced Zinfandel. But this is an impeccably balanced, Claret-like red from one of Napa Valley’s most renowned Zin-producing families, which makes it one of the best values you’ll find in the region.

Finding it, though, is the hard part. Hendry was named one of “Napa’s Secret Zinfandel Treasures” by Wine Enthusiast, and Block 28, a four-acre benchland parcel, produces a tiny amount of spice-tinged Zin that seldom sees retail shelves.

Even as Napa Valley is planted increasingly to Cabernet Sauvignon, Hendry stands as a beacon of Zinfandel excellence. They harness the same terroir that estates covet for $100+ Cabs, and the results are spectacular. 

This wine is poised from start to finish, with an underlying tension that keeps everything lifted and balanced. Its warm red- and black-fruit flavors give way to nuanced notes of licorice, fennel, allspice, and violet, and the 15 months it spends in 65% new French oak give the wine beautiful structural polish. We were struck by how Block 28 bears similarities to our favorite Sicilian and French reds more than to its powerhouse Napa Valley counterparts.

To walk through Hendry’s property is to walk through some of Napa’s most meticulously farmed vines. Their quality is so legendary that, before the Hendry family started bottling their own wines, Robert Mondavi funneled the estate’s Cabernet grapes into Opus One. Then Zinfandel master Kent Rosenblum put the Hendry name in the spotlight with his spectacular George Hendry Reserve Zinfandel.

Owner George Hendry planted Block 28 in 1998 using ancestral budwood from old-vine Mt. Veeder vines known for producing complex and spicy wines. Hendry is among the very few Napa estates that successfully dry farms its vineyards, a common practice in Europe that helps accentuate terroir and vintage expression. The vineyard’s stony, alluvial soils lie just 160 feet above sea level, but the morning fog and strong afternoon breezes from San Pablo Bay help moderate the microclimate, accounting for the wine’s Old World restraint. 

After one sip of this irresistible 2017 Block 28, you’ll wish every Zinfandel winemaker could take cues from Hendry. Few Napa Valley reds can pack this much history, tradition, and terroir-driven elegance into a bottle at this price.