History
Antonio Saitone established the vineyard in 1895 on land that had been part of Nicholas Carriger's Gold Rush-era estate. It stayed a grower's property for more than a century. Williams Selyem bought it in 2016 and farms it as an estate vineyard, while Carlisle continues to bottle a Saitone Zinfandel and DeLoach and Hook & Ladder also take fruit. Bedrock has sourced here in the past. The Historic Vineyard Society certifies the site.
The Site
A property of about 18.7 acres in the Piner-Olivet neighbourhood of the Russian River Valley, north of Santa Rosa, of which seventeen acres of old vines remain in cultivation.
Vines and Blocks
One dry-farmed field parcel rather than a set of blocks. Zinfandel dominates, interplanted in the pre-Prohibition manner with other black varieties and a scattering of whites, all picked together.
The Wines
Carlisle's Saitone Zinfandel is the long-running designate, and Williams Selyem now bottles from the estate it owns. Both are old-vine wines in the Russian River register: dark-fruited but lifted, with the acidity the Piner-Olivet fog protects.