For detailed California reds with the tension and lift to stand with the best of the Old World, SommSelect readers know to turn to Santa Cruz, Sonoma Coast, Mendocino, and Santa Barbara. But today, we’re offering up two resoundingly graceful reds from the place where many least expect it: Golden State’s beating heart, the Napa Valley. Both wines hail from sites high above the tourist-choked valley floor, where extreme elevations imbue them with soaring aromatics and a freshness that’s increasingly rare in this most rarefied of terroirs. First up is Sky Vineyards’ Mount Veeder Zinfandel, a breathtaking wine equipped with over seven years of age.

This organically farmed beauty is about as far as you can get from any preconceived notions of either Napa or Zin: Its soft red-fruited crunch, finely etched minerality, and dazzling old-school savor frankly call to mind a classy French red rather than the luscious Dry Creek powerhouses we’re used to. So, whether you’re a Napa skeptic or have been collecting Valley trophies for decades, Sky’s compelling and wonderfully unique 2014 Zinfandel is a much-needed addition!

Sky Vineyards might just get my vote for the most underappreciated producer in the Napa Valley. Lore Olds founded the property in 1979, making him a contemporary of fellow Napa originalists Randall Dunn and Jim Barrett (Chateau Montelena). He got his start in winemaking nearly a decade earlier at Beaulieu. When it came time to start his own project, he purchased the property where Sky now sits, perched high on Mount Veeder. It’s a stone’s throw from the legendary Mayacamas Estate, where he also cut his teeth. The name Sky is fitting: This is a true mountain vineyard. At 2,100 feet elevation, it puts even Alpine regions like the Savoie to shame. The cooler temperatures here, the near-constant wind, and the deep volcanic soils produce reds bristling with more tension, mineral cut, and spicy savor than you’ll ever find on the Valley floor. 

It’s perhaps not surprising that Sky Vineyards has never really caught the attention of Napa collectors. To start with, he never planted Cabernet Sauvignon. His vineyard long consisted entirely of Zinfandel, and he added some Syrah plantings just a few years ago. For another thing, Lore leads a life more fitting of a French paysan than a somm-beloved superstar. The winery is basically off the grid, with literally a single light bulb powered by solar panels. Lore farms organically, allowing wild grasses to carpet his vineyard, and never irrigates. Fermentations happen spontaneously, and Lore presses every wine in the same tiny wooden basket press he’s used for over four decades now. The wines then rest in neutral French oak —all from a single cooper—for however long Lore deems necessary, unencumbered by worldly concerns like release schedules or market presence.

The results are, simply, unlike anything else in Napa. Sky Vineyards’ 2014 Mt. Veeder Zinfandel pours a glimmering purple with ruby highlights. The nose lets you know this has little in common with the syrupy fruit bombs many associate the variety with. Juicy black raspberries, purple plum, and blueberry fruit lead into red licorice, peach yogurt, white pepper, fire-roasted game, and gravelly soil. The palate is deep and full-bodied, but with a brisk acidity that lends a sense of true soil-driven transparency to it. Black cherry, damp strawberry, and redcurrant fruit tie into cedar and smoke tones, with a lifted and penetratingly mineral finish. Drink this with a slight chill around 60 degrees in Bordeaux stems, and you will learn just how dynamic Zinfandel and the Napa Valley can be!