“Winemaking and filmmaking are two great art forms that are very important in the development of California. They both start with raw ingredients: in the case of wine, the land and the grapes, and in the case of film, the script and the actors’ performances. The winemaker takes these raw materials and ferments and blends. He says yes to one batch, no to another. The director does the same thing; a series of yeses and noes, from casting and costuming, to edits and sound mixes. In both cases you have to start with top-notch raw materials, whether it’s the land or a script.” —Francis Ford Coppola
SHOWCASING THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER…
Our winemaker at Francis Coppola Winery, Corey Beck, values stalwart vines. “We are very fortunate to work with some of the best Zinfandel growers at Dry Creek. Most of the vines are around 50 years old and there's something magical about these vines and the quality of wine that comes from them.”
In the film business, the “Director’s Cut” emerged as a means for filmmakers to present their own creative vision, when the final version of a film released by the studio differed from what the director had intended. When the Coppola family opened their winery in Sonoma County, they felt strongly about giving Director of Winemaking, Corey Beck, a Sonoma native, the opportunity to make wines that reflected his own vision of the quintessential Sonoma County wine. Director’s Cut became that endeavor; limited-production, appellation-designate wines sourced from Sonoma’s diverse and distinctive mesoclimates.
DRY CREEK VALLEY
There are two methodologies for growing Zinfandel in Dry Creek Valley. One consists of traditional farming practices, which includes the dry-farming of head-trained, spur-pruned vines that are quite mature and severely thinned in the spring to produce low yields. The other employs more modern methods, including bilateral cordon, spur-pruned on-wire trellising, drop irrigation, and carefully manicured canopies. We source our Zinfandel grapes from vineyards on the benchlands and hillsides, which are farmed both ways. The combination of the area’s climate, our vineyard sites, and the two types of the farming methods used produces excellent fruit with intensely concentrated flavor.
VINTAGE PROFILE
The most striking feature of the 2008* vintage was that it delivered a very small crop as a result of early spring frost that devastated many of the vines. In fact, some vineyards were off more than 50% of their normal yields. Having less fruit, however, meant that individual clusters didn’t have to compete as hard for nutrients. This resulted in more intense aromatics and highly concentrated fruit flavors once the grapes reached maturity. The cold snap that started the vintage was followed by weather that fluctuated between hot and very hot during the summer months. In turn, the grapes ripened more quickly than anticipated, causing us to harvest in August—much earlier than normal. The unpredictability of it all kept us on our toes the entire season, but despite these challenges, the crop came in being profusely aromatic and flavorful.
WINEMAKER’S NOTES
In 2008, the punchdown fermentation process produced wines of rich color, fruit concentration, and a balanced tannin profile. The wine was aged in American and French oak for 14 months. Using some Petite Sirah in the final blend gave a bit of structure and spice to the finished wine. Just like the 2007 vintage, this wine pushes the envelope in terms of richness and concentration. With an intense fragrance of black cherries, boysenberry syrup, pepper and spice, the wine spreads out like velvet on the palate with dark port-like flavors of raspberries, black plums, dark chocolate, toffee, and spice.
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, CA
Blend: 89% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah
Alcohol: 14.5%
Barrel regimen: 14 months in American and French oak: 50% new, 50% 1–2 year-old oak barrels
*We kindly reserve the right to send you the next vintage of this wine should this particular vintage sell out at the time your order is received.
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