2017 Zinfandel Reserve, Monte Rosso Vineyard, Sonoma Valley 100% Zinfandel • 15.2% Alcohol • $75 Retail • $60 Club Viva The wine made from this vineyard is like drinking a history lesson in viticultural antiquity; it is an absolute treat. In certain vintages of this wine, it is possible to smell the iron-rich soil in which the grapes were grown, and this is one of those vintages. Dig deep into the aromas of this wine. This beauty has aromas and flavors of briary raspberry, honeycomb, milk chocolate, cacao, strawberry, that unmistakable Monte Rosso minerality, and beautiful spice from the oak. Epic and enduring like a long read, I recommend the 933-page wild ride, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. A novel based on the real-life escapades of the author, who escaped from jail and ended up running guns and drugs for the Bombay Mafia, Roberts wrote Shantaram while serving the balance of his prison sentence after he was captured. This writing is so vivid, I felt like I was traveling through India with the protagonist. www.rockwallwines.com