Klinkerbrick Old Vine Zinfandel

Klinker Brick absolutely sounds like the name of somebody’s indie rock side project, but it’s actually a seriously respected winery out in California’s Lodi region making unapologetically bold old vine reds.

The name comes from the brick-like chunks of red volcanic rock found throughout the vineyards, which already tells you the wines probably aren’t aiming for delicate whispery elegance. Zinfandel is the heart of the whole operation and the winery has access to some properly ancient vines, many planted over a century ago.

The wines lean rich, ripe and full-bodied without tipping completely into jammy chaos. Loads of blackberry, plum, baking spice and dark chocolate tend to show up, usually backed by soft tannins and enough freshness to stop things becoming exhausting. Proper barbecue wine. Big pasta wine. “We accidentally opened a second bottle” wine.

Old Ghost is probably the bottle most people chase down first. Massive concentration from ancient Zinfandel vines but still polished enough to stay balanced rather than tasting like alcoholic fruit cake.

Lodi itself gets overlooked a lot because Napa hogs all the attention, but producers like Klinker Brick are a good reminder the region can produce seriously good fruit when handled properly.

There’s also a nice lack of pretension to the whole thing. Big Californian reds made for actual drinking instead of silent tasting-room theatre.