Fidelity Alexander Valley Zinfandel 2017

The Story

The Nick Goldschmidt Fidelity Alexander Valley Railroad Estate Zinfandel 2017 is 88% Zinfandel and 12% Petite Sirah sourced from the Railroad Estate vineyard in Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California. Nick Goldschmidt is the head of a vineyard and winemaking family, everyone get involved, including the children. They have vineyards and wineries in New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and Alexander Valley, California. Goldschmidt Vineyards is mainly a Cabernet Sauvignon House and they have several different lines of wine. The Fidelity label is almost their entry-level line of wines. But when I go into the details you will see there isn’t much entry-level about them, except for the reasonable price.

The Fidelity Zinfandel is sourced from a single vineyard, the Railroad Estate, the wine is aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, 15% new barrels the rest used, and only 2,000 cases are produced. There are 12 bottles to a case, so that’s 24,000 bottles, which for California, is small production, boutique wine. So there, a single vineyard, 16 months barrel aging, small production red wine that I found in Chicago for $14.99. I would expect the Nick Goldschmidt Fidelity Alexander Valley Zinfandel to be found closer to $20 in most parts of the US. It is very well priced, even at the higher price.

Alexander Valley is east of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma and it is the largest growing region in Sonoma. To the west is the Russian River and the Sonoma Cost AVAs, which are cool weather growing areas and well suited for Pinot Noir. The Alexander Valley is more inland and warmer and does very well with more full-bodied Red grapes. The alcohol content is a rather stout 15.1%.

Tasting Notes

The color, well there is some serious purple going on in my glass. The nose is ripe dark berries, a little vanilla, some spice, black pepper, raspberry, and a hint of raisin. This is a medium to full-bodied Zinfandel and is definitely not flavor shy. It starts with ripe blackberry mixed with black cherry, spice, vanilla crème, and pepper. The mid-palate offers blueberry in cream, orange zest, and tart cranberry. The tannins don’t bite and the acidity is well-integrated into the body of the wine. The finish starts off strong and slowly fades away.

The Summary

• If your experience with Zinfandel is mainly the value-priced Zins from Lodi, Sonoma Zinfandel tend to be more refined and elegant and the Fidelity Zin is no exception.
• A single vineyard, well-made, boutique Zinfandel in the under $20 price range is a must try.
• The Nick Goldschmidt Fidelity Alexander Valley Zinfandel is an excellent Zin at an outstanding price.