Quarterly Review of Wines

Spring 2005

“…Lodi is now one of California’s up-and-coming wine regions.”

“Another Lodi advocate of old-vine Zinfandel is Lance Randolph, owner of Peirano Estate. He says that his 75-acre block, part of the 300-acre estate, is ‘perhaps the largest block of old head-trained, natural rooted Zinfandel left in California.’ Randolph’s great-grandfather Giacomo Peirano, a native of Genoa, Italy, first planted vines in Lodi in 1895. Today, Peirano is known for Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Syrah.

“Peirano bottles at two levels, the affordable Peirano Estate wines, $10, and the Heritage Collection, $15-$19. While the estate wines are solid and varietally correct, often with dense layered flavors, the Heritage Collection wines are complex and distinctive, fully worth the additional dollars. Peirano Estate 1998 Old Vine Zinfandel, $10, was a little jammy with big ripe berry flavors, while the Peirano Heritage Collection 1999 Old Vine Zinfandel, $19, was dense and rich with lovely blackberry flavors and hints of spice. For my money the quality difference between the estate and Heritage Collection Peirano Shirazes made the point even more. Peirano Estate 1998 Shiraz, a real bargain at $10, is bright and textured with layered fruit, but the Heritage Collection 1999 Shiraz, $17, is loaded with black cherry and blackberry flavors and has a great structure and texture.”

From the article on Lodi wines and wineries by wine writer Gerald Boyd