Deauratus Zinfandel Tzabaco Rancho Vineyard 2023 (750ml) *

Zinfandel is one of Dry Creek Valley's calling cards, and this bottling from Deauratus draws on the Tzabaco Rancho Vineyard for its fruit. The 2023 is a single-site California Zinfandel that leans savory rather than jammy, aged first in new bourbon barrels and then moved to older, neutral barrique, an approach that folds the American oak into the wine rather than letting it stand apart.

There's a vertical, confident line to this wine, savory and driven, that opens and expands across the palate. A thread of lifted freshness keeps everything in balance, playing against tannins that feel creamy and velvety rather than gripping. The oak treatment reads as texture, not flavor, fully absorbed into the body of the wine, and the overall impression is one of poise and control.