Matthiasson Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Armor Plate Vineyard 2022 TAGS Georges Descombes works alongside the

Georges Descombes works alongside the Gang of Four crowd around Marcel Lapierre

Wholly original

but Manu Michelini -- of the Mendoza winemaking clan -- teamed up with Rioja native Carlos Fernandez in Labastida to farm old vines organically and biodynamically at around 600 meters

the two native grapes that arguably best express Friuli's Colli Orientali

sometimes called "the poor man's RSV" — and 2022 may be its most generous

Matthiasson Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Armor Plate Vineyard 2022 TAGS Georges Descombes works alongside theArmor Plate is a treasure: a tiny dry farmed, organically tended block of Sonoma Valley Zinfandel planted in the 1890s, now 130 plus years old, owned by the Hamel family (a viticulture client of Steve's). Located in volcanic alluvium near Glen Ellen, the vines deliver Zinfandel that looks nothing like the jammy stereotype. Matthiasson ferments half whole cluster, half destemmed, presses after 14 days on the skins, and ages the wine in neutral Burgundy