Ironstone Old Vine Zinfandel 2021

California's Lodi district calls itself the 'Zin' capital of the world, and with its warm climate, it's easy to see why Zinfandel thrives here. The vines, over 45 years old, produce fruit with serious concentration, giving this wine sweet flavours of plum, damson, prune, and raisin. There's also plenty of vanilla, clove, and sweet spice, with hints of almond and mocha adding a little extra intrigue. Thanks to some time in barrel, it's got a smooth, silky finish and a more depth than you might expect. A classic Lodi Zinfandel with bags of flavour and personality.

For a big wine, it's surprisingly versatile - perfect with smoky pulled pork, sticky barbecue ribs, or even a proper Sunday roast. It can handle bold flavours without breaking a sweat.

Ironstone Vineyards is today a sizable and well-respected Californian estate with around 2,000 hectares of vineyards. The estate was founded back in the 1960s in what was the Californian Gold Rush Country by John Kautz as a diversification of the family's crop growing business. By the 1980s at which time they were among the biggest grape growers in the state they took the next step and built their own winery and the Ironstone label was established. Today they're a well-established family estate. John Kautz and his wife Gail still lead the business while the next generation in the shape of Stephen, Kurt, Joan and Jack are all fully hands on in the operation and its continued development.