2018 Wingspan Moons of Neptune Old-Vine Zinfandel Contra Costa County 750 ml

Aaron Pott is a Napa Renaissance man, a sought-after virtuoso and Food & Wine Winemaker of the Year whose wines have scored 90+ points over 100 times and 93-96 points over 50 times from Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate. Capitalizing on an excellent vineyard and Pott’s wide-ranging expertise, the 92-94-point 2018 Wingspan Moons of Neptune Zinfandel is in the same league as his $100+ triumphs.

This wine isn’t a little brother to Pott’s heavy hitters, but a major player in its own right. Born of 130-year-old vines on top-notch Zinfandel real estate, the Moons of Neptune juggles bright acidity and warm fruit character. Antonio Galloni called it “fabulous” and a “great example of Contra Costa Zinfandel.” Bold and structured, this is a consummate old-vine Zinfandel that intricately layers warm fruit on top of minerality on top of spice. 

When we offered the 2017 Moons of Neptune earlier this year, Wine Access members couldn’t get enough, praising it as “excellent, sophisticated,” and “one of the best Zinfandels.” We labeled that release “Aaron Pott’s greatest-ever bang for the buck,” but he might’ve outdone himself with the 2018.

Pott’s pedigree plays a big part in the off-the-charts quality—he cut his teeth at famed Bordeaux Châteaux Troplong Mondot and La Tour Figeac, and has with worked with Napa headliners like Blackbird, Quixote, Quintessa, and Seven Stones—but the craftsman always works with high-quality materials. And as one of California’s most in-demand wine consultants, he can work with just about any vineyard he wants.

Pott saw something special in Contra Costa’s Del Barba Ranch, the own-rooted, head-trained, 120-year-old vineyard that has long been a coveted source for big-name Zinfandel winemakers. 

A former seabed (hence the name’s sea-god reference) tended by the fourth-generation Del Barba family, the site isn’t for the faint of heart. Extreme temperatures and scarce irrigation demand a lot from the vines that, at over a century old, are grizzled veterans who have seen a thing or two in their day, and are full of profound insight and surprises. 

The environmental stress at Del Barba works wonders in the Zinfandel. Summer days that regularly crack triple digits are followed by cool evenings that awaken and sustain a lively acidity and a resiliency that manifests in the glass as bramble, black fruit, and a fascinating minerality. This wine contains multitudes: rich black fruit up front, tons of aromatic complexity, and a long finish that bears the herbal, spice-rich mark of the earth it from which it comes. 

A perfect confluence of lauded winemaker and top-class Zinfandel source makes this wine is an absolute joy. Jump on it while you can.