Zenteno “Z” Malbec by Watermill Winery 2023
Flavor Profile
Raised in Mexico’s northwesternmost territory, Baja California, Israel was an engineer when he was offered the opportunity to try his hand at winemaking at Monte Xanic, one of the region’s first premium wineries.
Eventually overseeing every aspect from harvest to bottling, he spent a lot of time figuring out the best ways to work with the area’s salty and rocky, mineral-laden soils. And, again and again, he kept coming back to research done by a winegrower in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, who was over the moon about the region’s cobblestone-rich gravel.
“Basically everything we were avoiding, this guy was raving about,” says Israel. “It stuck in the back of my head.”Years later, a new opportunity arose. This time, to help launch an offshoot of an esteemed winery in Oregon called Watermill. “I jumped on it. Not only was the production size more adequate for my experience, but it was located in the Rocks District,” says Israel.
In addition to handling Watermill’s excess production, the new endeavor, called Rocks Wine Studio, is an elite custom crush facility—i.e. a for-hire winery that anyone can contract to help with any or all steps of the winemaking process. And, crushing around 2,500 tons of fruit every harvest, this means Israel is constantly pivoting to produce a variety of delicious Pacific Northwest wines.
Despite the range of releases with which he normally works, Zenteno “Z” is a Malbec Israel personally developed. “Malbec is one of my favorite grapes to work with, it expresses itself very differently from terroir to terroir.”
It’s made from blend of grapes from two vineyards in Columbia Valley, Washington—one a very warm site, the other in a much cooler climate—oak-aged and combined just prior to bottling. Full-bodied and well-structured, it delivers velvety flavors of black fruit and florals balanced by notes of dark chocolate. A vibrant acidity keeps the wine fresh, enhancing its complexity and maximizing its aging potential.
Raised in Mexico’s northwesternmost territory, Baja California, Israel was an engineer when he was offered the opportunity to try his hand at winemaking at Monte Xanic, one of the region’s first premium wineries.
Eventually overseeing every aspect from harvest to bottling, he spent a lot of time figuring out the best ways to work with the area’s salty and rocky, mineral-laden soils. And, again and again, he kept coming back to research done by a winegrower in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, who was over the moon about the region’s cobblestone-rich gravel.
“Basically everything we were avoiding, this guy was raving about,” says Israel. “It stuck in the back of my head.”Years later, a new opportunity arose. This time, to help launch an offshoot of an esteemed winery in Oregon called Watermill. “I jumped on it. Not only was the production size more adequate for my experience, but it was located in the Rocks District,” says Israel.
In addition to handling Watermill’s excess production, the new endeavor, called Rocks Wine Studio, is an elite custom crush facility—i.e. a for-hire winery that anyone can contract to help with any or all steps of the winemaking process. And, crushing around 2,500 tons of fruit every harvest, this means Israel is constantly pivoting to produce a variety of delicious Pacific Northwest wines.
Despite the range of releases with which he normally works, Zenteno “Z” is a Malbec Israel personally developed. “Malbec is one of my favorite grapes to work with, it expresses itself very differently from terroir to terroir.”
It’s made from blend of grapes from two vineyards in Columbia Valley, Washington—one a very warm site, the other in a much cooler climate—oak-aged and combined just prior to bottling. Full-bodied and well-structured, it delivers velvety flavors of black fruit and florals balanced by notes of dark chocolate. A vibrant acidity keeps the wine fresh, enhancing its complexity and maximizing its aging potential.
Winemaker Israel Zenteno
