It all started in 1969 when…

two aerospace engineers Norman deLeuze and Gino Zepponi along with Normans wife Rosa Lee decided to make wine together. Combining their last names, which also happens to be the quality control term of zero defects used in industrial production, the winery ZD was born. At the start they worked out of a small farm building of 450 sq ft where they had to repair everything themselves, luckily not a hard task for two engineers. Money was further stretched by buying inexpensive whiskey barrels, the first two vintages being made with American oak from Jim Beam barrels. This 1969 vintage of Pinot Noir and Riesling would produce fewer than 300 cases, a small amount that further shrank when their library stock was destroyed when a businessman set fire to a wine storage area to cover up embezzlement! Around 4.5 million bottles of wine were destroyed in the fire, estimated to be worth more than 200 million.

The *San Francisco Chronicle* (picture above) reported that the 2005 fire destroyed 4.5 million bottles of wine worth $250 million, ruining the wine of more than 92 wineries, including Beaulieu Vineyards, Saintsbury, Justin, ZD, and Sterling Vineyards

The 1969 Pinot Noir was the first wine produced by ZD. The label states “Made in Sonoma from grapes grown in the Carneros region of Napa,” a first for Carneros which later became an AVA in 1983

Later when dining at Bern’s Steak House in Tampa Florida, ZD wines president Brett deLeuze discovered a half case of the 1969 Pinot Noir vintage on their wine list that had been destroyed in the fire. Luckily the buyer there agreed to swap the wine with their 1997 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon. Success was never a guarantee, especially as the first 20 banks refused to give the winery a loan, according to Brett the 21st bank only agreed to a loan beacuse they “read the numbers wrong” but soon large crowds would gather in Rutherford on the weekends to enjoy the wines. In the early 90’s tastings only cost $5, if only we could go back to those prices!

Vineyard & Winemaking Style

Starting in 1999, ZD estate vineyards have been farmed with California Certified Organic Farmers certification with bio diesel tractors that run on renewable sources such as cooking oil. According to an article in Wine Business Monthly, “The major downside is the delicious smell of french fries is an appetite stimulator.” Production is around 50 thousand cases with hand harvested grapes. In a first for the winery, 240 gallon concrete fermentation tanks were purchased in 2018 to pair alongside the American oak treatment that is traditionally used by the winery.

The ZD Chardonnay style can be descriped as tropical fruit flavors of golden apple and pineapple from grapes harvested at slightly higher ripeness levels, around 25° or 26° Brix, which is only a few degrees more than domestic rivals such as Rombauer. Despite its richer texture the wine does not go through malolactic fermentation, helping retain a refreshing tart apple acidity and balancing the round sumptuous power from undergoing barrel fermentation. This process takes more than 2 months as the barrels are kept at the low temperature of 46°, the lower limit for yeast to ferment. This process retains the ripe tropical fruit character that can evaporate at higher fermentation temperatures. ZD Chardonnay can get lost within the large blue and yellow shadow Rombauer Chardonnay casts in the American marketplace but if you have never tasted this wine, do yourself a favor and grab a bottle!

Tasting with ZD Winemaker Brandon deLeuze.

To commerate their 50th Anniversary, ZD has crafted a Reserve Cuvée Sparkling that features 59% Pinot Noir and 41% Chardonnay from their Carneros CCOF Estate Vineyard. The wine is barrel aged for 11 months in 40% American Oak and 60% stainless steel prior to 3 years of tirage ageing. This is a bold rich sparkling wine featuring warm golden pear, baked yellow apple, apricot, candied ginger, and toasty cognac like aromas.

The ZD Carneros Pinot Noir has a consistant character of spiced strawberry, cranberry, and orange peel aromas and flavors that I’ve found pairs nicely alongside rich foods. The 2017 Founders Reserve Pinot Noir is sourced from the ZD organic Carneros estate vineyard and serves as a tribute to founder Norman deLeuze who passed away from lymphoma in 2007. The fruit quality is rich and denser than the Carneros Pinot, with plum, black cherry, and cedar spice alongside a high quality that honors the memory of Norman. The 2016 ZD Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has a small amount, (12%) of Petit Verdot along with 22 months aging in American oak. Expect some juicy richness from this addition. The 15 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a combination of Napa Valley Rutherford, Oak Knoll and Coombsville sub regions. Aging is extensive here with 34 months in American oak providing clove, tobacco, and vanilla alongside black cherry fruit and black currant aromas.

The Abacus XX was tasted for a grand finale. First available to consumers in 1999, this is a non vintage wine that combines the 1992-2017 vintages of Reserve Cabernet. The wine is silky smooth as its bottle is jet black. Viscous and mouth coating, this solera styled blend is fed new vintages of Reserve Cabernet as it begins to age each year to keep a youthful freshness and vibrancy. A small percentage of the solera blend is bottled each year, around 15% or less, ensuring there will be new Abacus to come year after year. The heavy medallion, which I’ve been told can be seen on dog collars during winery events, on each bottle signifies the first and last vintages used in the blend. To read the medallion, add the value of the beads above the crossbar to the value below for each row, there will be a zero row separating the two dates.