The Creator of The Prisoner Returns to Zinfandel Blends

Dave Phinney is the mastermind and creator of Orin Swift Wine Cellars and the infamous Prisoner, which he sold in 2010.

Dave has a talent for finding great vineyard sites, developing young winemakers, and clearly a knack for packaging and marketing.

At first glance it seems like an oxymoron when someone would mention Dave Phinney and a 130 year-old vineyard. Yet, that is what Crane Assembly is.

The Crane Assembly is a partnership between Dave, winemaker Kevin Fox, and two close friends: Bryan Sandoli and Darryl Browman, co-owners of Cavus Vineyards. The vineyards for Crane Assembly are located in St. Helena, and were some of the original vineyards planted by Dr. George Belden Crane in 1885. In fact, there is only one other vineyard in Napa Valley today that is producing fruit that is as old as G.B. Crane.

Originally planted as a field blend, referred to as “mixed blacks”, G. B. Crane is predominantly planted with Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignan, Alicante Bouchet, Mourvèdre, and Valdiguie across three of the five vineyard blocks. Merlot, Cabernet and a bit more Petite Sirah round out the other blocks. The last significant replant occurred in the 1930s, which means vines here range from 85 to 130 years old.

The acquisition of this vineyard is a labor of love, and one of preserving history. Listed among the vineyards of the Historic Vineyard Society, G.B. Crane is a piece of California wine history that is still in production as it was originally. Dr. Crane was a pioneer of the Napa Valley, planting vineyards throughout the northern end. The few vineyards that still exist today are some of the most prized in Napa and include the famed Dr. Crane vineyard from Andy Beckstoffer, which is just down the road from the G.B. Crane vineyard. Luckily, over the past 130 years, none of the owners of G.B. Crane permitted the vineyard to be pulled out and replanted entirely with the greater economical driver of Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Yields here are tiny due to the vines’ age, yet the fruit is intense and full of character. The wine is named El Coco “the boogeyman” in reference to Goya’s painting “Que vienne de coco.” The inspiration comes from the gnarled vines that themselves seem like scary shadows of their previous youth.

El Coco itself for me is a grown-up, serious version of what brought Dave fame and admiration, the Prisoner. Both are blends based on Zinfandel, however, El Coco represents a wine of greater depth and personality. The wines balance and freshness is well integrated with the intensity of fruit and earthiness that this historic site delivers. El Coco is the antithesis of commercial and volume orientation, delivering wines of immediate enjoyment full of character and personality, yet have the ability to last and age as the vineyard has for decades.

Cheers,

Jeremy