Sometimes, one does not realize how strong a group of followers are of a certain wine. What is unusual about this zealot group is that they are not defined by vintage, place of origin, corporate advertising, varietal content, or cult winemaker. This is a group of wine lovers that have stumbled upon a wine by someone suggesting it, tried it at a party, or given it as a gift. And because the first response after tasting this wine is usually, ‘wow, I really like that;' this wine has gained an army of repeat devotees since 1980. The wine, of course, is Marietta Old Vine Red. We offered this wine last year and sold all I could get, close to 100 cases, till we exhausted the distributor’s inventory. I’m a little nervous because this rendition of Marietta is Lot 73, which was awarded 95 pts by the Wine Advocate, and has price that is better than last year. Lord have mercy! Can I get an Amen?

Marietta is simply a wine for the wine-loving masses, as exemplified by its owner and founder. Enter Chris Bilbro, who came from a large Italian family, where part of enjoying life included barrels of wine made by his father and uncles. Chris fondly remembers a lot of his childhood spent at his great aunt's house, Marietta. She was a tough Italian immigrant who always had a stockpot on the stove, a bountiful garden, and a plentiful table that was accepting to all that showed up. Not having any children of her own, she took Chris under her wing and taught him how to grow a garden and to cook by hand and taste, which is a direct correlation to Chris' winemaking style.

Chris, former designer of competitive wheelchairs for the disabled, and former owner of Bandiera winery, established Marietta wines which he named after his great aunt in 1975. At the beginning of Marietta wines, Chris sourced grapes from small secluded parcels, a couple of acres each of old forgotten vines usually in the backyards of old Italian immigrants. These vines were originally planted by the owner to make his homemade wines. These gnarly head-pruned Old Vine varietals of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Syrah were the basis of Chris’ Marietta wines, whose contract to the growers was a handshake. Marietta's first vintage was in 1978, made in an old rented cattle barn. Because he uses wine from different vintages for the perfect final Cuvee, he designates his blends by lot numbers, not vintages. If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense because Syrah and Petite Sirah gain peak perfection at different ages than the base Zinfandel. But Chris never did follow UC Davis teachings and has always followed the road less traveled.

"Marietta Cellars doesn't have a tasting room or a wine club. We don't buy advertisements in wine magazines or enter wine competitions. We don't make "trophy wines," nor do we charge "trophy wine" prices…Our wines don't sell because of ratings, because of the view from our tasting room, or because of a fancy label. Our wines sell because we make consistently great wine, and we ask a very fair price." --Chris Bilbro. Sadly, Chris Bibro passed three years ago. His son Scott took over the day-to-day operations and winemaking in 2012.

The goal of winemaking at Marietta is to let the fruit speak for itself. Cool fermentation, neutral oak, and stainless steel all work in concert to preserve the purity of fruit in the "OVR" wines. Primarily Zinfandel from 2020, fermented and aged in a stainless tank, and benefiting from barrel-aged Syrah and Petite Sirah from 2019 and 2018. Small amounts of Grenache, Barbera, and Carignane complete the wine. 60% was aged in neutral barrels, and 40% was aged in stainless steel.

 "Scot Bilbro has the magic touch when it comes to crafting wines that deliver superb quality for the money." Antonio Galloni of Vinous 

This fresh, clean Zinfandel-based red blend has clear notes of bramble and ripe berries intermingled with white pepper and potpourri. Smooth and long in the mouth, this wine is a balance of bright acid, rich center, and a structured finish. Flavors of heady plum and tart strawberry are supported by cocoa and spice, yielding a delicious wine with just the right mix of exuberance and restraint that begs to be opened and enjoyed.

60% aged in neutral barrels and 40% aged in stainless steel

"The NV OVR Lot 73 is composed mainly of Zinfandel with smaller portions of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignan, and Barbera. Medium ruby, it offers intense red cherry, blood orange, and apricot perfume with accents of rooibos tea leaves, red licorice, saline, lilac, and loads of spicy nuances. The medium-bodied palate is light on its feet with soft tannins, bursts of refreshing acidity, and detailed amaro accents on the long finish. This is so easy to drink!" The Wine Advocate 95 pts

Lovely aromas of pitted red cherries, black cherries, moss, and walnut. Medium to full-bodied with gentle tannins. Nice intensity with lovely length. Juicy, with so much herbal complexity and black fruit. Predominantly Zinfandel, with syrah, petite sirah, grenache, barbera, and carignan. Drink now. James Suckling 91 pts

Marietta OVR Lot #73

Just to let everyone know, we are not complete score hounds (spelling?). That being said, if a wine is awarded 95 points and it is reasonably priced, we feel the need to try the wine. This is definitely the case with Marietta Old Vine Red, with the new lot #73 rated 95 points by Wine Advocate that we can sell for well under $20 a bottle. We opened the bottle, and ripe dark fruit immediately became apparent. Rich on the palate, fat dark berry fruit, a touch of spice balanced by fine tannins. This is exactly the kind of wine you want to have after raking leaves all day or watching a football game and maybe even with that last backyard barbeque with friends. Marietta OVZ has always been a crowd-pleaser, and this one hits it out to the park. (No baseball pun intended, Ok, maybe a little.) At $11 a bottle, it is a fall wine to stock up on. If you have enough self-discipline, a quality I sorely lack, this wine would be perfect with turkey. The distributor guarantees me they won’t run out, but they said that last time and we sold all that they had. Fair warning, buy now.

Regular Price: $15.99

*Sale price is on 6 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

Place your order now with the store contacts above, while you've got all the information at your fingertips.

Cheers!

John Hannum,

Fine & Rare Wine Specialist