Renwood Zinfandel 2016 Sierra Foothills, California, USA 75cl

Renwood was founded in 1993 by Robert Smerling, who left a Wall Street career to chase Zinfandel in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley. The winery built its reputation on old-vine fruit from the Sierra Foothills, an area home to some of the oldest Zinfandel plantings in California and a name that helped put the region back on the map in the 1990s.

This is a pure Zinfandel grown in the warm, granite-influenced soils of the Sierra Foothills, an inland stretch east of the Central Valley that gives the grape real ripeness and concentration. Renwood favours mature, low-yielding vines, and that older wood is a large part of why its reds carry such depth of dark fruit and spice.

The 2016 now carries a little bottle age, which has softened the edges while keeping the sun-driven fruit that defines foothills Zinfandel. This is a wine to enjoy now rather than one built for long cellaring, and it is all the more approachable for it.

Expect a full-bodied red led by blackberry and brambly dark fruit, with a lift of black pepper, sweet baking spice and a warming, lightly oaked finish. The tannins are ripe and rounded, the mood generous. It is a natural partner for barbecued ribs, a good burger, or a wedge of mature Cheddar.

If you enjoy bold Californian reds or the pepper of a Rhone Syrah, this old-vine Zinfandel is an easy step across. It is made for relaxed weekend cooking and sharing with friends rather than for ceremony, and it delivers plenty of character for the money.