Visually, the 2021 Black Sears Estate Zinfandel is a dark, eggplant purple, highlighted by a ring of Persian plum red at the glass's edge. The nose opens with Zinberry and prunes before evolving into notes of white pepper, leather, and the floral hints of lavender and daphne. On the palate, this is a rich, concentrated wine that offers an abundance of ripe, dark fruit and a slightly higher pH than usual. Soft and welcoming on the approach, it blossoms into a bouquet of black cherries, currants, graphite, and black pepper on the palate with a bit of a bite. And by the time it hits the back of the throat, the classic Black Sears earthiness overtakes the heat and even the fruit, keeping things grounded on Howell Mountain's forest floor, where unparalleled biological diversity comprises the soil's microbiome.
