Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Showing the influence of the breezy and fog-laced Oak Knoll District, the wine offers rich, plush fruit, delicate acidity and a structure defined by well-ripened, fine-grained tannins. Layered notes of blackberry preserves, raspberry, violet, cocoa, anise, and cherry wood on the nose. Persistent and full on the palate with flavors of plum, black cherry, baking spices, dried herbs, and pomegrante. An expressive Zinfandel that, with proper cellaring, will continue to improve for the next 5-7 years.

It all started in the 1940s when 14-year-old Aldo Biale helped his mother make ends meet by selling to insider Napans – along with eggs and produce – some of the family’s homemade Zinfandel. Over the old “party line” phone system, the code words “a Black Chicken” signified a jug of bootleg wine…and kept nosy neighbors and the authorities from finding out about Aldo’s underground Zinfandel operation! Legally produced since 1999, Black Chicken Zinfandel pays homage to the industrious patriarch of the Biale family and the prominence of Zinfandel in the history of the Napa Valley. The heart of Black Chicken is sourced from vineyards in the Oak Knoll District, among them the same family vineyard Aldo, Nonna, Bob and the Biale family have farmed since the 1930’s. Additional sources come from our estate vineyard surrounding the winery, from neighboring growers in the Oak Knoll, as well as from other long- standing winegrowing families in the Napa Valley. Black Chicken stands as the quintessential expression of Zinfandel from the Napa Valley.