Bucklin

  • Sonoma, California, United States
Bucklin
  • Those who doubt the existence of terroir in the United States or who scoff at the whole notion of terroir owe it to themselves to try several of the Old Hill zins... They are particular wines that very much speak of Old Hill."

    —Eric Asimov, New York Times

Founded in 1851, Old Hill Ranch is one of the oldest and most historic vineyards in Sonoma. In 1981 it was purchased by Otto Teller, the stepfather of current winemaker Will Bucklin, and resurrected from a state of disrepair having become overrun with old cars, blackberry bushes and old bathroom fixtures. After several years of work the vineyard was back on track and in 1984 they began selling the grapes to Ravenswood for their acclaimed Old Hill Zinfandel. In 1998 the four Bucklin siblings decided to start their own winery so, after having interned at Lafite-Rothschild, worked at Hardy and Sons in Australia, Navarro winery in Mendocino, and being the winemaker at King Estate winery in Oregon, Will Bucklin returned to take over tending the vineyard and winemaking responsibilities at Old Hill Ranch.

The twenty-four-acre Old Hill vineyard is a classic California field blend, of which about three-quarters is Zinfandel; the rest is a mix of Grenache, Alicante Bouchet, and a least a dozen other varieties (Tannat, Trousseau, Colombard, Lenoir, etc…). The vineyard is both dry farmed and certified organic with yields that rarely exceed one and a quarter tons per acre.

Wines are fermented using only native yeasts and are aged using modest amounts of new oak. The goal here is to allow this carefully tended piece of California history to show its terroir without adding or removing anything that might diminish its expression. Old Hill Ranch is an exceptionally well preserved relic from the genesis of California’s wine landscape and luckily, under the careful watch of the Bucklin family, it has a long life ahead.

Here is a link to Will Bucklin's blog: buckzin.wordpress.com

And a link to an interesting MAP of vineyard plantings.

BOWLER E-Zine Issue 4 | January 2022: Compost Cookery with Foradori, Hoch, Bucklin, and Podere Giardino
Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB7098-21
Organic
Bucklin Cabernet Sauvignon Bedrock Vineyard Sonoma Valley
2021
Cabernet Sauvignon
"Last year we released our last Cab produced on Old Hill Ranch because the vines had succumbed to phylloxera. This year we are thrilled...
United States

DB7096-20
Organic
Bucklin Zinfandel Old Hill Ranch "Bambino"
2020
Zinfandel
The now mature "Bambino" vines were planted in 2000 and represent Bucklin's "young vine" Zinfandel. Fermented with indigenous yeast without...
United States

DB7097-21
Organic
Bucklin Zinfandel Old Hill Ranch "Ancient Field Blend"
2021
Zinfandel
60% Zinfandel,15% Grenache, 10% Alicante Bouschet, 5% Petite Sirah and 10% "other" (20+ other varieties, in fact) from a twelve-acre block...
United States