Expert Ratings - Vintage 2023
The Wine Spectator 94 Points | Jammy and generous, with bold aromatics, this red is a pleasure to drink, offering polished cherry and blackberry tart flavors accented by briar patch and licorice as this zips along the lively finish. Drink now through 2034. 6,000 cases made.
The Wine Enthusiast by Elaine Chukan Brown writes 93 Points | A Napa classic, the Black Chicken Zinfandel relies on vineyards in cooler parts of the region, here harvested from a cooler vintage as well. The combination delivers complexity, detail and plenty of flavor: juicy mixed berries and plum, citrus peel, incense and savory length complete with refreshing verve and well balanced structure.
Jeb Dunnuck 90 Points | Offering brambly red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with peppery herbs, sandalwood, and savory, flowery incense, the 2023 Zinfandel Black Chicken is medium-bodied, nicely balanced, has ripe tannins, and a good finish.
Memo Summary Notes
The 2023 Robert Biale "Black Chicken" Zinfandel is the 25th-anniversary release of this iconic Napa Valley wine. It is widely regarded as one of the best Zinfandel releases of the decade due to a remarkably cool and balanced growing season.
Winemaker Description
Showing the influence of the breezy and fog-laced Oak Knoll District, the wine
offers rich, plush fruit, delicate acidity and a structure defined by well-ripened,
fine-grained tannins. Vibrant aromas of black cherry, dried herbs, and sandalwood
on the nose. Expansive on the palate with notes of blackberry, orange peel, plum,
and baking spices all driven to a long finish by balanced acidity.
It all started in the 1940s when 14-year-old Aldo Biale helped his mother make
ends meet by selling to insider Napans – along with eggs and produce – some of
the family’s homemade Zinfandel. Over the old “party line” phone system, the
code words “a Black Chicken” signified a jug of bootleg wine…and kept nosy
neighbors and the authorities from finding out about Aldo’s underground
Zinfandel operation! Legally produced since 1999, Black Chicken Zinfandel pays
homage to the industrious patriarch of the Biale family and the prominence of
Zinfandel in the history of the Napa Valley.
The heart of Black Chicken is sourced from vineyards in the Oak Knoll District,
among them the same family vineyard Aldo, Nonna, Bob and the Biale family
have farmed since the 1930’s. Additional sources come from our estate vineyard
surrounding the winery, from neighboring growers in the Oak Knoll, as well as
from other long-standing winegrowing families in the Napa Valley. Black Chicken
stands as the quintessential expression of Zinfandel from the Napa Valley.
The 2023 season was one of the coolest vintages in more than a decade that, as
time progressed, showed all the markings of the spectacular vintage that ended up
in the bottle. Several years of drought were erased in a single season as rains
began just after the completion of the 2022 harvest and continued through the
spring of 2023. Ample ground water and cool temperatures delayed budbreak
until April with flowering in mid-May.
Moderate temperatures through the spring
and summer allowed for balanced maturation across all vineyards - allowing us to
pick at the perfect intersections of flavor, sugar, acid, and tannin maturity.
Harvesting at Robert Biale began with earlier sites in September while moderate
heat at the start of October accelerated picking that lasted through the end of the
month.
- Practicing Sustainable
- 100% Zinfandel
- Sourced from their estate vineyards in Oak Knoll District AVA (Napa Valley)
- Ancient Marine sediments and rocky alluvial fan soils
- Head-trained and dry-farmed vines
- Hand-harvested
- Fermented in open-top fermenters
- 2-4-day cold soak
- 2-3-punch downs a day
-
Aged 16 months in 100% Burgundy oak barrels (25% new)
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